tags: Press Releases

Nationwide Latino Voter Polling Underscores Democrats’ Opportunity to Engage and Win Latino Voters

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UnidosUS and Mi Familia Vota Education Fund Polling Finds Latino Voters’ Overwhelming Sentiments Align with Democratic Policy Positions; Strong Call for Leaders to Condemn White Supremacy

Washington, DC – Nationwide polling of Latino eligible voters finds that on a range of key policies, including immigration, Latinos overwhelmingly align with Democrats’ policy positions. The poll of 2,750 Latino eligible voters, conducted by leading Latino pollster BSP Research for  UnidosUS and Mi Familia Vota Education Fund, underscores the potential for Democrats to engage and win Latino voters by big margins if they invest, engage and don’t take Latino voters for granted.

Read the press release HERE and find key poll toplines in the presentation deck HERE

Among the key findings include a “significant shift” in the top priorities listed, with inflation, crime/gun violence, jobs, healthcare, and abortion ranked as top issues one through five.

On issues of special focus for America’s Voice, the new polling found:

  • Nearly three out of four Hispanics support protecting and supporting undocumented immigrants. Two questions found strong, 70-plus percent support for action on immigration reform:
    • 74% agreed (50% strongly) that the southern border shouldn’t be an excuse for inaction on policies to support/protect undocumented immigrants: “President Biden should not use the situation at the southern border as an excuse to do nothing to protect undocumented immigrants who have lived and worked in the US for many years. Presidents are expected to deal with many issues at the same time, including immigration.
    • 71% agreed (48% strongly) with the Biden Administration using executive authority to protect immigrants if Congress does not act: “If Congress does not pass a comprehensive immigration reform law, the Biden Administration must use its executive authority to protect undocumented immigrants, like Dreamers, farmworkers, and essential workers who have lived in America for a long time.
  • Latino voters’ top-ranked “deal breaker” was a candidate being supported by white supremacists/nationalists. When asked, “When deciding who to vote for in an election, which of the following would be a “deal breaker” for you, meaning you just could NOT support the candidate if you knew this fact about them. It would be a dealbreaker for me, I could not support a candidate who…”
    • 55% chose being “supported by hate groups and White supremacists/nationalists,” the highest deal-breaker among 11 tested.
    • Other key “deal-breakers” included: supporting a complete ban on abortions, without exceptions (52%); support for or participation in the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol (46%); and opposing immigration reform or a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants (45%). 
  • 84% of Latino voters say it’s “personally important” for elected officials to condemn white supremacy. Another poll question found that 84% of Latinos say it is personally important (57% very important) “for elected officials and other leaders to speak out against White nationalism and White supremacy.”

According to Vanessa Cárdenas, America’s Voice Deputy Director:

“The UnidosUS/Mi Familia Vota poll is  another proof point that Latino voters by far align and support  a progressive vision for our country on a range of issues including immigration. Democrats still have work to do to engage Latino voters and they need to draw sharp contrasts between the parties, ensuring that Latino voters know that their overwhelming issue preferences are with Democrats and not with Republicans. 

Yet what’s at stake goes beyond important policy distinctions. The GOP is trying to make inroads with Latino voters, including by recruiting a new slate of Hispanic candidates, at the same time the Republican Party is embracing dangerous extremism and mainstreaming white nationalist conspiracies that threaten our communities. Republicans cannot simultaneously be the party of welcoming Latinos while embracing white nationalist extremism at the highest levels of their leadership and in campaigns across the country. It’s a tightrope that should be impossible to walk and is directly at odds with the dominant views of Latino voters across America.”