Ahead of Super Tuesday, Cost of Living, Wages and Housing Top of Mind for Texas Hispanic Voters

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AUSTIN, TX — Heading into Super Tuesday, UnidosUS, the nation’s largest Latino civil rights organization, is highlighting data on Texas’ Hispanic electorate, part of the largest national poll of Hispanic voters this cycle. Latinos represented 25% of the votes cast in Texas in the last presidential election and play a decisive role in multiple contests at the local, state and federal levels.  The poll results show cost of living, wages and housing top the priority agenda for Latinos in the state.

“Latinos are a young population, with a significant portion of new voters entering each election cycle,” said Clarissa Martinez De Castro, Vice President of the UnidosUS Latino Vote Initiative. “In 2024, we anticipate that 1 of every 4 Latino voters will be casting a presidential ballot for the first time, underscoring the need for candidates and parties to engage with these voters and address their priorities, to win their support.”  

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 Texas’ Hispanic electorate.  

On The Issues in Texas: 

  • Economy: Three of the top five concerns for Texas’ Hispanic voters are dominated by economic and pocketbook issues, specifically inflation and the rising cost of living, jobs, and healthcare. 
  • Gun violence: Remains among the top five issues.  
  • Immigration: Immigration ranks 5th, and 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.  
  • Abortion: 72% of Texas’ 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.  

On Voting in Texas:  

  • In 2024, 25% of Texas’ Latinos will be voting in a presidential election for the first time.  
  • 38% of Texas’ Hispanic electorate is composed of new voters since Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump faced off in 2016.