New UnidosUS Bipartisan Poll: Florida Hispanic Voters Feeling Economically Strained, Concerned about their Safety and Ready to Vote — With a Clear Message for Candidates

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President Trump’s Latino support continues to erode with 20% of those who voted for him in 2024 saying they wouldn’t today; 76% of Hispanic voters say they are “certain” or “almost certain” to vote in November

WASHINGTON — Florida Latino voters are feeling economically strained, overwhelmingly concerned about Congress’ lack of leadership and preparing to head to the polls in November, according to a sweeping new bipartisan survey released today by UnidosUS, the nation’s largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization.

The new UnidosUS Bipartisan Poll of Hispanic Voters: The Road to the 2026 Midterms makes clear that any elected leader or candidate who ignores the surging sentiment of the Latino electorate, the nation’s second-largest voting-age population, does so at their own peril.

The survey — the largest of its kind, polling 3,000 registered Latino voters nationally, including 500 in Florida of whom 300 are in battleground congressional districts — paints an urgent and unmistakable picture: Latino families are living under severe economic strain, worried about their constitutional protections and holding Washington directly accountable.

“Florida’s affordability crisis is showing up in every part of daily life,” said UnidosUS Florida State Director Jared Nordlund. “Families are naming the same pressures clearly: cost of living, wages, health care and housing. But Florida continues to lag where people need leadership most — access to health coverage, affordable care and basic support systems that help families stay working and housed. Turning away help, underfunding services or building systems families cannot navigate does not save people money; it shifts the burden onto households, clinics, schools, employers and community organizations.”

“At Caridad Center, the increase in need is sharp and visible,” said Caridad Center CEO Laura Kallus. “More families are delaying care, rationing medication or arriving only after a health issue has become urgent because rent, food, transportation and utilities already consumed the household budget. That affects the whole community: workers miss shifts, children miss school and preventable health problems become more expensive crises. When public supports are cut or harder to access, clinics and nonprofits are left to catch families after they have already fallen. Florida needs fewer barriers to care, not more.”

The Economy Is the Story — And Latinos Are Not Being Heard

Only 16% of Latino voters in Florida say they live comfortably. Another 81% are either just meeting expenses, having trouble meeting expenses, or meeting expenses with only a little left over — stretched by the cost of food, gas, housing, health care and basic necessities that keep climbing while wages stay flat and Washington stays distracted or takes actions that make matters worse.

When asked for their top priorities on what elected officials must address, pocketbook concerns dominate:

  • Fifty-seven percent (57%) cite the cost of living as their top priority, particularly the cost of basic living expenses, food and gas.
  • Forty-one percent (41%) want action on wages and the economy, particularly higher wages and job creation.
  • Thirty-eight percent (38%) cite soaring health care costs, from increased premiums to access to medication.
  • Twenty-five percent (25%) want action on housing, with the cost of electricity, utilities, insurance, maintenance and repair costs ranking as the leading housing concern.

These are not abstract policy preferences. These are kitchen table breaking points, and Latino voters are delivering a direct verdict:

  • Fifty-four percent (54%) say the country is headed in the wrong direction.
  • Fifty-five percent (55%) say President Trump and congressional Republicans are simply not focused on fixing the economy.
  • Thirty-eight percent (38%) expect President Trump’s economic policies will leave them worse off over the next 12 months, compared with 31% who say better.
  • Seventy-two percent (72%) express are concerned that Congress is failing to fulfill its checks-and-balances role and is ceding too much authority to the executive branch.

President Trump Is Eroding his Latino Support; Candidates Have Work to Do

While President Trump’s approval rate is higher among Florida Hispanic voters than with Latinos elsewhere (44% compared with 30%), still 51% of Latino voters in the sunshine state disapprove of President Trump’s job performance, including in Florida battleground congressional districts.

Twenty percent (20%) of Latino voters in Florida who voted for President Trump in 2024 say that if they could do it over again, they would not vote for him — a cautionary note for his party’s candidates heading into November.

The drivers of that erosion are telling: the cost of living and inflation (45%), immigration enforcement in American cities (30%), job and wages (28%) and the war in Iran (27%) are the top issues shaping the views of Latino Floridians about the president.

That said, Florida is the state where Republican candidates hold the edge in tested statewide matchups. Sen. Ashley Moody leads Alex Vindman 40% to 33% and Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon 40% to 32% in hypothetical Senate contests; Rep. Byron Donalds leads David Jolly 40% to 33% and Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings 39% to 34% in hypothetical gubernatorial matchups. But more than one-in-four Latino voters are undecided or say they do not know enough to decide. 

That should be a reminder to both parties that meaningful, culturally competent engagement with these voters is a must. 

  • In the generic congressional ballot Republicans have not yet reached majority support – 42% of Florida Hispanic voters would support Republicans, 38% Democrats, and 20% are undecided.
  • At this point a plurality of voters say they are motivated to vote to support their community, rather than the candidates (though there is more energy among Republicans to support their party).
  • Roughly 34% of Florida Hispanic voters have joined the electorate in the last four years.  

Constitutional Alarm Bells Paving the Way Toward November

The economic crisis is not the only thing shaping Latino voter sentiment:

  • Forty-five percent (45%) say civil rights and liberties have become less secure under the current administration.
  • Forty-four percent (44%) are not confident the government will respect their basic constitutional rights.
  • Sixty-eight percent (68%) think the president should be required to get congressional approval before taking military action against another country. A plurality of Florida Hispanic voters support military intervention in Cuba (44% support, 39% oppose).
  • Seventy-two percent (72%) say Congress is failing its constitutional duty by ceding too much authority to the executive branch.

Immigration Rounds Up the Top 5 Priorities for Voters

Hispanics want to see a fair and orderly immigration system. That is not the same as support for mass deportations. In fact, 86% of Latino voters in Florida support legalization for long-residing undocumented immigrants, and support holds even if it’s an “amnesty” (74%). And 61% of Latino voters in Florida oppose providing additional funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) without guardrails.

These immigration actions have broader implications — 40% say they or people in their communities fear immigration authorities will harass or arrest them even if they are U.S. citizens or legal residents, and 24% say children are missing school because parents are afraid of being arrested during drop-off and pick-up. These actions have real, measurable economic consequences: 32% report that employers have lost workers, and 29% say these actions are hurting the local economy.

This is a crisis unfolding in American communities, schools and workplaces right now.

 

For More Information on the Bipartisan Poll of Hispanic Voters: Road to the 2026:

  • Click HERE to see a slide presentation of the poll’s toplines.
  • Click HERE to view demographic crosstabs.
  • For interactive national and state poll results, see Hispanic Electorate Data Hub.

About the UnidosUS Bipartisan Poll of Hispanic Voters: The Road to 2026 Midterms:

Bipartisan Pollster team: BSP Research and Shaw & Co. Research

  • Total N = 3,000 registered Latino voters, margin of error of +/- 1.8
  • Florida N = 500 registered Latino voters, margin of error of +/- ±4.4
  • Florida battleground congressional districts N = 300 respondents from FL-07, FL-13, FL-23, and FL-27, margin of error of +/- ±5.7
  • Field dates: April 27 – May 14, 2026
  • Survey available in English and Spanish according to respondent preference
  • Mixed-mode data collection strategy: live telephone interviews, text invitations, and verified online panels matched to voter files

The UnidosUS bipartisan survey includes robust state-level oversamples and targets 32 competitive battleground congressional districts across six distinct regional clusters.

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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 built a stronger America by creating opportunities for Latinos and breaking down barriers to expand economic and social progress for all. UnidosUS partners with an Affiliate Network of nearly 300 community-based organizations across the United States and Puerto Rico. For more information on UnidosUS, visit www.unidosus.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X and Threads.    

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 Dr. Daron R. Shaw

Dr. Shaw is president of Shaw & Company Research and is a professor in the Government Department at the University of Texas at Austin. He teaches American Government, Campaigns & Elections, Public Opinion & Voting Behavior, and Political Parties. Professor Shaw currently serves as one half of the bipartisan polling team for Fox News and is a member of the Fox News Decision Team. He is also associate PI for the 2020 and 2024 American National Election Studies and is co-director of the University of Texas Poll.