UnidosUS Voter Poll: Pocketbook Issues Still Top Latino Priorities

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Despite being a decisive voting group, 55% of Hispanic voters have not been contacted

WASHINGTON, DC – UnidosUS, the nation’s largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization, today released findings from its 2024 Pre-Election Poll of the Hispanic Electorate. The survey of 3,000 Latino voters shows that the top five priorities, two months out from the election, are dominated by cost-of-living issues — inflation, wages, housing and health care costs — with immigration and gun violence tied at number five. Poll results, as well as additional Congressional district-level data for the Latino voting-age population provided by the USC Center for Inclusive Democracy, can be found in UnidosUS Hispanic Electorate Data Hub, launched last November to advance a more accurate understanding of this electorate.  

  • See a slide presentation of poll toplines here.  
  • Check out the interactive Hispanic Electorate Hub here. 

Janet Murguía, president and CEO of UnidosUS said, “Our new poll shows that the rising cost of living, wages and housing costs continue to be top of mind for Latino voters. Latino voters are also expressing their strong and persistent opinions on gun violence and abortion rights. And on immigration, Latino voters know the difference between those who mean us harm and those who are contributing to the fabric of our nation — their top priorities are relief for the long-residing undocumented population and cracking down on human smugglers and drug traffickers.” 

Key Findings Include: 

On the issues 

Four of the top five priorities for Hispanic voters continue to be driven by pocketbook issues: 

  • Inflation/cost of living, wages, housing and health care costs.  
  • Housing first reached the top five in 2023 and is now a top issue across all states. 

Immigration and crime/gun violence tied as top five priority. 

  • On crime/gun violence, top concern is that guns are too easy to access. 
  • On immigration, the top priorities are a path to citizenship for long-residing undocumented immigrants and cracking down on human smugglers/drug traffickers. 

On abortion, by a 71% to 21% margin, Latinos consistently oppose making it illegal or taking that decision away from others, no matter their own personal beliefs. 

On voting 

In 2024, 23% of Latinos will be voting in their first presidential election.  

  • 37% of the Latino electorate is new since the 2016 election presidential election. 

While a majority of Latinos are certain they will vote, many are still deciding. 

Early outreach is key: 33% plan to vote early, 28% by mail and 39% on Election Day. 

  • 55% say they have not been contacted this cycle by the parties or organizations. 

On the parties and candidates 

  • On priority issues overall, Democrats are more trusted than Republicans. However, more than a quarter of Latino voters do not clearly see either as a champion of their concerns, with 28% saying neither, both or don’t know which party would be better at addressing their priority issue. 
  • Vice President Harris holds a +27-point lead in support from Latino voters over former President Trump: 59% to 31%. 

Clarissa Martínez De Castro, vice president, UnidosUS Latino Vote Initiative said, “Hispanic voters will be decisive this November, a fact made more real by a landscape of razor-thin margins. Yet only 23% of Latino voters say they have heard from Democrats and 16% from Republicans. With 61% planning to vote early or by mail and nearly 1 in 5 voting for the first time in a presidential, early and meaningful outreach is essential. It is imperative for candidates to connect with these voters and provide concrete solutions to their concerns to gain their confidence and earn their votes.” 

Gary Segura, Founding Partner and President, BSP Research said, “Latino voters are clearly motivated and paying close attention, though many are still defining their vote intention. As has been true for several cycles, Democratic policy positions fare better than Democratic politicians while Republicans — and Trump in particular — are held in generally lower regard and garner trust only on issues of inflation and border. Both parties clearly have work to do to attract a larger share of this fast-growing electorate, and to do so it is important to understand the nuances behind Latino voters’ concerns and motivations, which a larger poll such as this one is able to do.” 

Conducted by BSP Research with oversamples in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas, the 2024 Pre-Election Poll of the Hispanic Electorate provides a more accurate and nuanced understanding of this decisive, but often misunderstood electorate, and serves as a follow-up to UnidosUS 2023 Pre-Election Poll.  

About the survey: 

Total N=3,000 Latino eligible voters 

  • N= 2,800 registered. 
  • N= 200 eligible, not registered. 
  • Margin of error +/- 1.8%. 

Oversamples 

  • N=300 per: Arizona, California, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania (+/- 5.7%). 
  • N=400 Florida, Texas (+/- 4.9%). 

Field Dates: August 5-23, 2024 

  • English or Spanish, according to preference. 
  • Mixed mode: 75% online, 25% live telephone interviews.