Ahead of Super Tuesday, Cost of Living, Wages and Housing Top Concerns for California Latino Voters

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Heading into Super Tuesday, UnidosUS, the nation’s largest Latino civil rights organization, is highlighting a poll by UnidosUS of California’s Hispanic Electorate — part of the largest poll of Hispanic voters this cycle.

Latinos represent approximately one third of California’s voting-age population and were nearly 27% of votes cast in the state in the last presidential election. With several toss-up races among its 52 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, California will play a prominent role in deciding the balance of power in Congress, and Latino voters will be a deciding factor is that outcome, underscoring the need for candidates to address the issues most critical to these voters. According to the poll, for Hispanic Californians, cost of living, wages and housing topped the list of concerns.  

“More than 90% of registered Latinos in California cast a ballot in 2020,” said Clarissa Martinez De Castro, Vice President of the UnidosUS Latino Vote Initiative. “Given that in 2024, nearly 1 in 4 Latino voters will be voting in a presidential election for the first time and with several highly competitive races in play, meaningful outreach to these voters will be critical in deciding Congressional balance of power.”  

Full results of the poll are available in the UnidosUS Hispanic Electorate Data Hub, a newly released multidimensional platform that provides data and insights on this electorate spanning the last two decades. The following outlines key findings on California’s Hispanic electorate. 

On The Issues:  

  • Economy: Four of the top five concerns for California’s Hispanic voters are dominated by economic and pocketbook issues, specifically inflation and the rising cost of living, jobs, affordable housing, and healthcare. 
  • Gun violence: Remains among the top five issues.  
  • Abortion: 74% of California’s Latino voters continue to oppose efforts to make it illegal or to take that decision away from others, no matter their own personal beliefs on the issue.  
  • Immigration: Immigration ranked as the sixth priority, up from 11 in 2022. Providing a path to citizenship for DACA recipients and other immigrants with long-standing ties in the country are the two big policies Latino voters want to see advanced on this issue.  

On Voting:  

  • In 2024, 23% of California’s Latinos will be voting in a presidential election for the first time.  
  • 41% of California’s Hispanic electorate is composed of new voters since Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump faced off in 2016.