{"id":13537,"date":"2023-08-08T18:59:26","date_gmt":"2023-08-08T18:59:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/?p=13537"},"modified":"2023-08-10T18:43:58","modified_gmt":"2023-08-10T18:43:58","slug":"the-gop-made-gains-among-latino-voters-in-2020-but-democrats-remain-the-party-of-choice-for-upcoming-midterms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/?p=13537","title":{"rendered":"The GOP made gains among Latino voters in 2020 but Democrats remain the party of choice for upcoming\u00a0midterms"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Mary Lehman Held<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As the second largest U.S. demographic group<\/a>, Latinos are a significant political force that could determine the elections in the key midterm battleground states of Arizona<\/a>, Colorado<\/a> and Nevada<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not surprisingly, the anticipated impact of Latino voters has forced Democrats<\/a> and Republicans<\/a> to develop messages that not only resonate but also drive turnout on Election Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is easier said than done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Latino voters represent a diverse group of countries of origin, native languages, cultural values, education and personal characteristics. As with any demographic group, voting patterns are informed by individual experiences<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One thing is clear. Latino voters are turning out in record numbers<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2020, Latinos cast an estimated 16.6 million votes, an increase of 30.9%<\/a> over their turnout in the 2016 presidential election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Latino communities are to be adequately represented in our democracy, then the complexity of those communities needs to be understood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The majority of Latinos still vote democratic<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As a licensed social worker<\/a> among Latino immigrant communities, I have seen how many have endured heightened discrimination against their families and communities since the election of Donald Trump in 2016. I also have seen how these experience shape their mental well being and political decision-making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the Trump Administration, workplace raids, immigrant detentions and family separations at the border instilled a deep fear and trauma<\/a> among many Latino immigrant communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In one study<\/a>, for instance, researchers found that stress associated with Trump-era policies \u2013 and continued under the Biden Administration \u2013 correlated with poorer mental health status among Latino adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A majority of Latinos \u2014 an estimated 63% \u2014 supported President Joe Biden<\/a> in 2020. But there was about an 8 percentage-point<\/a> swing toward Trump compared to 2016. Based on exit polling data, a higher percentage of Latino voters<\/a> \u2013 32% \u2013 cast their ballot for Trump in 2020 than the 29% that did in 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did Trump, with his anti-immigrant and anti-Mexican rhetoric<\/a>, garner increased support from Latino voters?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One reason may be that immigration policies only affect a subset of Latinos<\/a>, most notably Mexicans, followed by Salvadorans, Guatemalans and Hondurans. Other Latino subgroups have fewer undocumented members or have clearer advantages for documented U.S. entry. As a result, immigration issues are less relevant to either of these voting groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens<\/a> who are not required to navigate the immigration system when entering the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cubans are another Latino subgroup<\/a> that has special access to citizenship pathways not afforded to other immigrants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pew Research Center data suggests that 55% of Cuban Americans plan on or lean toward voting Republican<\/a> in the midterm elections, compared to 24% of Mexican Americans and 22% of Puerto Ricans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the national level, Cuban Americans have less influence on elections as they represent only 4% of all Latinos and are mainly concentrated in Florida.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in Florida, 28% of Latinos are Cuban<\/a>, and as a result, getting the Cuban American vote may be essential to winning. In 2020, for instance, the Cuban American vote played a significant role<\/a> in Trump winning the state over Joe Biden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, approval of Biden<\/a> varies by origin, with most Cuban Americans disapproving of Biden\u2019s overall performance as president<\/a>, while just about half of Mexican Americans and Puerto Rican voters disapprove of his performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Significant factors shaping Latino voters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A key factor is religion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About 48% of Latinos report being Catholic<\/a>, with 16% identifying as Evangelical. While about half<\/a> of the general Catholic population self-describe as Republican or Republican-leaning, most Catholic Latinos \u2013 about 59% \u2013 lean toward Democratic candidates<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conversely, 50% of Evangelical Latinos lean toward a Republican<\/a> vote in the midterms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a key issue among religious voters, most Latinos believe abortion should be legal<\/a> in some situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another distinction among Latinos relates to whether being Hispanic or Latino is an important part of their identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Pew Research Center<\/a>, those who do indicate the Latino identity as important or very important are more likely (60%) to vote Democratic than those who place less importance on their Latino identity (45%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Common issues that outweigh Latino partisanship<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Not surprisingly, the top issues among Latino voters vary by political affiliation or leaning, though some common issues arose on each side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A top priority across Latino voters is the economy<\/a>, as indicated by 90% of Republican-leaning and 75% of Democratic-leaning Latinos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also of high importance is education, with 72% of Democratic-leaning and 66% of Republican-leaning Latinos highlighting this issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among Latino voters who report leaning Democratic, other top issues of concern included health care \u2013 80% \u2013 and gun policy \u2013 71%. Republican-leaning Latinos further identified violent crime \u2013 76% \u2013 and immigration \u201363% \u2013 as key issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a broad group, Latinos believe that Democrats care more about their needs<\/a> and work to earn their votes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This belief aligns with the historical pattern of Latinos more frequently voting for Democratic candidates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, as with any diverse demographic group, Latino voters are weighing important issues with views and values that are informed by their own backgrounds, experiences and belief systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Dr. Mary Lehman Held is an Associate Professor at University of Tennessee<\/a><\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Mary Lehman Held As the second largest U.S. demographic group, Latinos are a significant political force that could determine the elections in the key midterm battleground states of Arizona, Colorado and Nevada. Not surprisingly, […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13538,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[81],"class_list":{"0":"post-13537","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-latino-vote","8":"tag-latino-vote"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13537"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13537\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13799,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13537\/revisions\/13799"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}