Ahead of Tonight’s Republican Debate, UnidosUS Urges Candidates to Present Solutions Addressing Hispanic Voters’ Top Concerns

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Engaging Latino Voters Meaningfully Is A Must-Do for a Successful 2024 Presidential Campaign

WASHINGTON, DC— Ahead of tonight’s Republican Presidential Debate in Miami, UnidosUS, the nation’s largest Latino civil rights organization, is encouraging all candidates to address issues that are important to America’s growing Latino electorate.

“As the second largest group of voting-age Americans, Hispanic voters are a critical factor in the winning equation for the White House and multiple state and local races. Candidates matter, their positions matter and meaningful outreach is essential,” said Clarissa Martinez De Castro, Vice President of UnidosUS’s Latino Vote Initiative. “At tonight’s debate, we challenge the candidates to lead with their proposed solutions to the top concerns of Latino voters, which are shared by large segments of their fellow Americans.” On top concerns, a robust UnidosUS national and multi-state poll and a recent Univision poll on the perspectives and priorities of Latino voters have shown:

  • Economic concerns continue to top the list of Hispanic voter priorities, including the high cost of living, health care costs and housing affordability. These findings track with long-standing Latino concerns about economic and pocketbook issues.
  • Gun safety and mass shooting emerged as one of the top 5 priorities in 2022 and remains there today. A top concern on this front is that it is too easy to access guns.
  • Abortion was among the top five issues for the first time in 2022 and remains there today. More than 70 percent of Latino voters believe it should remain legal, no matter their own personal beliefs on the issue.
  • On immigration, Hispanic voters want to see a both/and approach – effective management of the border, humane treatment for immigrants and paths to legality for long-residing immigrants in our country.
  • Climate change is also rising as a concern for these voters, and among the top five concerns in the recent Univision poll, up from 2022.

Research continues to show persistent under-engagement and under-investment in engaging the Latino electorate. Latino voters are sending a wake-up call to politicians and candidates on both sides of the aisle. To win the votes of Hispanic voters, they need to both engage with this electorate and put forth commonsense plans to make progress on the significant challenges facing our country.