Hispanic Voters Back Harris over Trump by a 62%-37% Margin; Cite Economic Concerns as Top Priorities

on

Economy was the potent driver; Latino supermajorities on various policy positions not aligned with Trump platform. 

WASHINGTON, DC – Latino organizations today released key findings on Hispanic voter motivations and election choices, based on interviews with a representative sample of 3,750 actual Hispanic voters. In comparison, the national exit poll had 2,152 Latino respondents. 

In a historic night for Republicans, who increased support across most demographics including Latinos, a majority of Hispanic voters — including men — voted for Vice President Kamala Harris. In many instances, policies associated with Democrats far outperformed candidates from that party. Pocketbook concerns dominated 4 of the top 5 priorities, with reproductive rights rounding up the top 5, nationally. 

  • Click HERE to watch a replay of today’s webinar 
  • Click HERE to see a slide presentation of the poll’s national toplines  
  • Click HERE to view Latino vote results by state, and HERE for demographic crosstabs 
  • For interactive Latino poll results, see Hispanic Electorate Data Hub. 

The poll is part of the American Electorate Poll, a critical cross-check on traditional exit polls which often rely on low and unrepresentative samples of Hispanic voters, and adds depth to our understanding of why and how Latinos and other groups voted. This robust poll surveyed 3,750 Hispanic voters, with representative samples in 10 states (AZ, CA, FL, GA, MI, NC, NV, PA, TX and WI), including an oversample of nearly 800 Puerto Rican voters, making it the largest sample of Puerto Rican 2024 actual voters. 

UnidosUS Vice President of the Latino Vote Initiative Clarissa Martínez de Castro said,  

“The most potent driver in the election was economic discontent, expressed in President-elect Donald Trump’s gains with most demographics. If there is a mandate, it’s on that: raise wages and bring down food, housing and health care costs. A majority of Hispanic voters supported Harris — including men — and a supermajority reject mass deportations and abortion restrictions. The mainstream exit polls got Hispanic candidate support wrong, and that is a recurring sampling issue. But there is dissonance between candidate choice and policy positions, with much greater support for policies supported by Democrats than for Democratic candidates. This is an area of strategic reflection for Democrats. For Republicans, the message is that many of the policies in their platform are opposed by a majority of American voters, including Latino supermajorities. Elected officials on both sides of the aisle would be wise to govern with those elements in mind, to keep or grow Hispanic support in future elections.” 

“This election sent three strong messages regarding Latino voters. First, the influence of Latino voters continues to grow as we reach a new record in terms of the number of Latinos who voted, despite the underinvestment in year-round outreach efforts. Second, Latino communities can mobilize effectively in key moments when properly resourced, both to push back or push forward on issues that matter. And third, but certainly not least, Latinos still hold onto certain core values when it comes to policies, such as the desire for action on climate change, support for a fair economy and a commitment to humane immigration policy, all of which should be taken into consideration when discussing legislative priorities in 2025,” said Frankie Miranda, president and CEO of Hispanic Federation. “Latinos must be invested in if we hope to turn out the Latino vote. We can no longer be ignored or take it for granted. With sufficient and substantial resources, Latinos can be mobilized in unprecedented numbers.” 

Vanessa Cárdenas, executive director of America’s Voice, said, “We know that the American public, even amidst this year’s results, opposes the Trump agenda of mass deportation, separation of families and his promises to ‘un-document’ and deport some with current legal status. American voters, and Latino voters in particular, still strongly support legal status for long-settled immigrants. In this poll and in the main network exit polls, when put head-to-head, the American people overall choose legal status for undocumented immigrants living here over deportation and that is even more true for Latino voters. So, let’s be clear: Trump does not have a mandate for mass deportations or sending in the military to round up our immigrant neighbors or family members.” 

“We have to begin telling the full story about this election,” said Melissa Morales, president and founder of Somos Votantes. “While Trump did make some gains with Latino voters, a strong majority of Latino voters in battleground states voted for Vice President Kamala Harris. This election was a referendum on the economy, and while in fact, Harris was able to close the gap on the economy, a top issue for Latinos, in a very short period of time – in the end it was not enough to overcome a rightward shift that swept the country. The real story here is that rightward shift among voters who turned out this election transcended Latino voters and laying the blame exclusively on Latino voters is not only irresponsible but dangerous. This moment calls for a reckoning. Working people simply are not feeling enough economic improvement in their everyday lives. Our mandate moving forward is not only that they do but to ensure we fight to provide them with more opportunities, not less – which includes rejecting the infringement on those opportunities and freedoms Donald Trump’s Project 2025 has planned through actions such as mass deportations or stripping away abortion and reproductive rights.”   

Camille Rivera, founder of La Brega y Fuerza Fund said, “The relationship with the Latino community is fragile and must be harvested and tended to on an ongoing basis. Organizations like La Brega y Fuerza have spent years requesting investment into the over 6 million Puerto Ricans across the country. But the data is clear — while we saw an influx of resources after the MSG rally it wasn’t nearly enough to make up for the weeks of time that we had fallen behind with Latino outreach, especially amongst Latino men. We must learn from our mistakes and invest in these communities year-round, all while trusting those closest to those communities. La Brega y Fuerza is dedicated to this mission and spent months prior to the election organizing with limited resources across states like Pennsylvania, North Carolina and New York. Now, we urge others to be honest about what happened and remember that Latinos hold power, but to spark that power we need year-round fuel for the fire.” 

Key Findings Include:  

Latino/Hispanic Vote 

  • Presidential vote. Latinos voted for the Democratic candidate Kamala Harris (62%) over the Republican candidate Donald Trump (37%) by a +25 margin.  
  • A majority of Hispanic men voted for Harris (51%-48%), and a supermajority of Hispanic women (66%-32%). 
  • Among Latino subgroups, the highest level of Harris support was from Puerto Ricans (65%, followed by Mexican Americans (63%). Highest Trump support was from Cuban Americans (54%). 
  • House vote. On the generic congressional ballot, Latinos voted for Democratic candidates over Republican candidates by similar margins (62% to 34%). 
  • Outreach. 45% of Latino voters reported they had not been contacted this election. 
  • Overall, only 33% said they were contacted by Democrats, 23% by Republicans 
  • Contact rates were higher in battleground states, particularly GA and PA. 
  • Reported Republican outreach was higher than in previous elections. 
  • New Voters. One in five Latinos were voting for the first time in a presidential election. 

Issue Priorities:  

  • #1 Cost of living / inflation (52%)  
  • #2 Jobs and economy (36%)  
  • #3 Housing costs and affordability (27%)   
  • #4 Health care costs (25%) 
  • #5 Abortion and reproductive rights (23%) 

Economy & Inflation 

A supermajority of Latino voters support: 

  • A law or regulation that bans price gouging and prevents corporations from artificially raising prices (90%). 
  • Passing a new voting rights act to ensure that all eligible American citizens can vote without barriers (90%) 
  • Expanding clean energy investments to create more manufacturing jobs (90%) 
  • Closing tax loopholes and requiring all corporations with more than $1 billion in profit to pay a 15% tax (86%) 
  • Building 3 million new homes and providing $25,000 in down payment assistance (80%) 

Abortion Rights 

  • By a 79% to 21% margin, Latinos support Congress passing a federal law to guarantee access to abortion and give women control over their own private medical decisions. 
  • A majority of Hispanic voters supported state ballot measures to protect the right to abortion (AZ 79%, FL 63%, NV 81%).  

Immigration & Border Security (6th priority) 

  • 80% of Latino voters support passing a law to provide permanent legal status to undocumented immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for a long time, including Dreamers who were brought to the U.S. as children. 
  • 71% of Hispanic voters support passing the bipartisan border security bill to block avenues for seeking asylum, increase the number of border patrol agents and asylum officers, and expand detention and technology at the U.S.-Mexico border 

Violence & Extremism 

  • 60% expressed concern over elected officials remaining quiet and not speaking up against white nationalists and extremists who promote hate and attacks against minorities and immigrants. 

Interactive results for Latino voters will be available on UnidosUS’s Hispanic Electorate Data Hub, which includes results going back to 2006. Data from the full 2024 American Electorate Poll, including crosstabs for all racial and ethnic groups polled, can be found on the poll website, www.2024electionpoll.us.  

About the 2024 American Electorate Voter Poll, Hispanic Voters: 

Total N=3,750 voters  

  • N=500 per: Florida  
  • N=400 per: Pennsylvania, other states  
  • N=300 per: Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Texas, California  
  • N=200 per: Michigan, Wisconsin 
  • N=790 per: Puerto Rican voters
  • Margin of error +/-1.62% 

Field Dates: October 18-November 4, 2024 

  • Survey available in English and Spanish, according to respondent preference 
  • Mixed mode: 75% online, 25% live telephone interviews 

### 

About the 2024 American Electorate Voter Poll 

The 2024 American Electorate Voter Poll is a large-scale poll of Black, Hispanic, Asian American, Native American and white voters nationally and in key states and congressional districts, conducted by the African American Research Collaborative (AARC) and BSP Research, and sponsored by SEIU, UnidosUS, First Nations Development Institute, Climate Power, Indivisible, Rural Organizing, Voter Participation Center, America’s Voice and the American Civil Liberties Union.  

The election poll contacted more than 9,400 voters who cast their ballots early or were certain to vote in the final days before the November 2024 election, offering exclusive information about the electorate, including Congressional, Senate, and Gubernatorial vote choices, issue priorities, and evaluations of both major parties and what issues motivated voter turnout. The poll also includes data from crucial presidential, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House battleground states, including Florida, Georgia, Texas, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Arizona, Pennsylvania, California, and Nevada, as well as a national sample. The full array of data is available on the 2024 American Electorate Voter Poll website. Interactive results for Latino voters are available on UnidosUS’ Hispanic Electorate Data Hub, which includes results going back to 2006. 

About UnidosUS

UnidosUS is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that serves as the nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization. Since 1968, we have challenged the social, economic, and political barriers that affect Latinos through our unique combination of expert research, advocacy, programs, and an Affiliate Network of nearly 300 community-based organizations across the United States and Puerto Rico. We believe in an America where economic, political, and social progress is a reality for all Latinos, and we collaborate across communities to achieve it. For more information on UnidosUS, visit www.unidosus.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.  

About BSP Research 

BSP Research is a Latino-owned polling, research, and analytics firm headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 2021 by Matt Barreto and Gary Segura, who have more than two decades of experience in national polling and research, BSP Research is a leading research and analytic firm with expertise on the political and social views of the American population and beyond. BSP has industry-leading expertise in culturally competent research on communities of color and other forms of disadvantage, and extensive experience in bilingual polling and data gathering from all varieties of communities.  

About the African American Research Collaborative 

The African American Research Collaborative (AARC) provides high-quality research and analysis on the political interests, motivations, and goals of Americans of all backgrounds. Our expert team of pollsters, researchers, and analysts have vast experience in polling, political behavior, and issues that affect us all: the economy, health care, education, housing, civil rights, immigration, policing, jobs, grassroots organizing, and social justice. 

About Hispanic Federation 

Hispanic Federation (HF) is a nonprofit membership and advocacy organization, founded in 1990, committed to empowering and advancing the Hispanic community, with a focus on low-income, marginalized, and immigrant Latinos. With programs in 40 states, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia, HF’s focus areas include immigration, economic empowerment, civic engagement, disaster relief, philanthropy, education, health, and the environment. HF also maintains ongoing public education campaigns and meets the organizational development needs of its member agencies through grant-making and capacity-building assistance. 

About America’s Voice 

The mission of America’s Voice (AV) and America’s Voice Education Fund (AVEF) is to build the public support and the political will needed to enact policy changes that secure freedom and opportunity for immigrants in America. Priority goal: win reforms that put 11 million undocumented Americans on a path to full citizenship. 

About Somos Votantes 

Somos Votantes is a Latino-led, Latino-focused organization that runs some of the largest independent Latino civic and voter engagement programs in the country. We envision a nation where hardworking Latinos have the opportunities and tools to fully participate in our democracy. Somos Votantes seeks to empower hardworking Latinos in shaping the future of our democracy, primarily through non-partisan civic engagement programs, by increasing our participation in elections and advocating for progressive policies. Visit https://www.somosvotantes.com/ for more information, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and X. 

About La Brega y Fuerza Fund 

La Brega y Fuerza is a Puerto Rican organization that was created to build a pipeline of power between the island and the mainland and to advocate for democracy, self-determination and economic resilience for all Puerto Ricans. Founded less than 2 years ago, La Brega y Fuerza has made inroads with the Puerto Rican community and the diaspora across the country.