California Latino voters express growing concerns over economy, Trump administration ahead of midterms
New polling released in September suggests a significant shift among California Latino voters, with the economy emerging as a top concern and more than three-quarters of those surveyed disapproving of President Donald Trump.
The Latino Community Foundation's polling found similar concerns among Latino voters in California and Texas. Julián Castro, CEO of the foundation, said the survey showed widespread financial anxiety and dissatisfaction with the Trump administration's handling of the economy.
"To me, one of the most illuminating findings was that in California and in Texas, about 50% of Latinos said they were worried about paying next month's expenses. So there's deep anxiety about the economy, and I think that that's driving Latinos toward Democrats right now."
Approximately 78% of respondents said they did not believe the administration had been effective in addressing inflation or the cost of living, according to the survey.
Michael Madrid, a Republican political consultant, said economic concerns are significantly outweighing other issues among many Latino voters.
"The economy by a 2.5 to 3-to-1 margin over the next, likely cultural issues, which are popping up. That includes ICE raids and immigration and border crackdowns, which is clearly terrorizing wide segments of the Latino community," he explained.
According to the survey, 56% of participants said they favored Democrats to address the issues most important to them, compared with 19% who favored Republicans.
"As somebody who's been involved in political campaigns for 35 years, I haven't seen the anti-incumbent headwinds against a party against Republicans this strong since, really, the 1994 election cycle, which was a true realignment election," Madrid said.
Madrid cautioned that polling should be viewed as a measure of public opinion rather than a prediction of election results.
"It's important to be looking at polling as a scientific instrument to gauge public opinion, but it's very clear that all of the issues affecting California — and they are significant, consequential ones — are really in the rearview mirror compared to how people are feeling about the direction of the country at this moment in time. That's what this race is going to come down to."
The survey also examined how California Latino voters view other issues on the November ballot.
Among those surveyed, 62% said they favored Proposition 40, a proposed one-time tax on certain billionaires. The measure would impose a 5% tax on qualifying wealth above $1 billion, according to the California Legislative Analyst's Office.
The survey also found Latino voters were concerned about technological advances, including artificial intelligence.
