New polling shows that more than one in four Hispanic voters are voting for the first time in the upcoming general election.
The polling data, compiled by UnidosUS and BSP Research, shows that 26% of Latinos in Texas say they’ll vote in their first presidential election this year.
“The message to take from that is that where both political parties are thinking that they're engaged in investing in Latino communities to the extent that they do, that has to be an ongoing process,” said Gary Segunda with BSP research in a poll briefing Tuesday.
Segunda said the percentage of new voters since 2016 is 38%. That's taking into account new voters in the 2020 general election, when about 12% of Latino voters voted for the first time,
“The community is so young on average that newer voters represent a huge portion of the electorate in any given election,” Segunda said.
Presidential politics
Vice President Kamala Harris shows a commanding lead over former president Donald Trump when it comes to presidential preferences: 57% of Latinos say they’ll vote for Harris and 34% say they’ll vote for Trump. About 9% of Hispanic voters in Texas said they’re undecided or voting for a third party.
Segunda said that young voters (ages 18 to 39) are among the least enthusiastic group when it comes to voting in the general election. While 51% of young Latino voters said they will definitely vote, 29% said they may or may not vote.
“That is something that we need to keep in mind, because a lot of the young people that we speak to out on the field, right — whether they're newly registered voters or voters that are in college — a lot of them are saying that they just don't feel a connection to either party,” Dayana Iza Presas, Texas State Director for the advocacy organization Mi Familia Vota, said during the briefing.
What Latinos care about
The polling also showed that the top three issues that Latinos care about include inflation, jobs and immigration. Segunda said that’s largely consistent with top issues for Latinos and non-Latinos across the country.
“From their pocketbooks to their healthcare to immigration, Texas Hispanic voters are focused on living a prosperous life regardless of one's background or origin,” said Eric Holguin, Texas state director for UnidosUS. “Hispanic voters want our leaders to reach out and work with our communities on real solutions rather than playing partisan politics."
But the polling shows that outreach from both major parties has been inconsistent. More than half of Texas Hispanic voters — 52% — say they have not been contacted by either party about voting in the upcoming election.
“It is shocking to me… that as Latinos become the second largest voting block in the country and the second largest voting block in Texas, both parties are failing, and failing significantly, to invest adequate resources to turn out the Hispanic electorate,” said Segunda.
Segunda said that the polling didn’t include data about how rapid population growth in the state could be impacting the Hispanic electorate.
“Certainly, the population growth intuitively would raise housing costs and rental costs,” said Segunda. “It just depends on where folks are coming from.”
Pablo Arauz Peña is KERA’s growth and infrastructure reporter. Got a tip? Email Pablo at parauzpena@kera.org. You can follow him on X @pabloaarauz.
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