Presidential campaigns finally courting Latino voters, poll finds
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Less than a month before the presidential election, campaigns are finally reaching out to the Latino voters who will play a key role in determining the outcome of the tight contest, a new poll indicates.
Why it matters: A record number of Latinos are eligible to vote this year and could especially have an impact in swing states where their numbers have been increasing.
- Latinos make up about one-fifth of Florida's electorate and represent the third-largest number of Latino eligible voters in the country, a report from UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute found.
Driving the news: Many Latinos have said campaigns barely or never contacted them, which advocates said was one reason Latinos weren't registering to vote.
- But a newly released poll of voters in battleground states — including Florida — found a majority of Latinos (64%) say they've now been contacted by campaigns or get-out-the-vote organizations.
Case in point: In August, Miami-Dade Democratic Party First Vice Chair Millie Herrera told Axios the local party was doubling down on its messaging and grassroots efforts to reach the Latino community.
- "The Democratic Party [in Miami] wasn't as active as we would've wanted in past years. Now we're on the ground," Herrera said then. "There's still time."
Last month, Chispa, the popular dating app among Latinos, and Voto Latino teamed up again to encourage Gen Z Hispanics to register to vote.
- The state's ballot initiative that would enshrine abortion in the state's constitution is expected to mobilize young Floridians, and reproductive rights a top issue for young Latina women.
By the numbers: The majority of Hispanics polled — 7 out of 10 — said they definitely plan to vote on Nov. 5.
- In Florida, 61% of those polled said cost of living and inflation were the most important issues facing the country.
Zoom in: At a town hall with Univision last week in Doral, Donald Trump, speaking to an audience of undecided Hispanic voters, leaning into anti-immigrant rhetoric.
- The former president claimed without evidence that jails and asylums in Latin America and the Caribbean were sending their residents to the U.S., the Miami Herald reported.
- He also repeated baseless claims about Haitian immigrants eating pets.
Still, the Latino community, which helped shift Miami-Dade right in recent years, has overall favored Trump.
- Of those polled, 46% of Floridians say they plan to vote for Trump, compared to 39% who say they'll vote for Harris.