October Latino Battleground Survey Results

Executive Summary

Voto Latino partnered with BSP research to field a poll of Latino voters in the battleground states of Texas, Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Georgia focused on the importance of driving preferences and vote choice among Latinos going into the 2022 November midterm elections. The survey was in the field between October 12th and October 17th and has a sample size of 800 responses from registered voters who self-identified as Latino or Hispanic. The survey was conducted in Spanish or English, at the discretion of the respondent, and administered online via text, email, or web solicitation. The data was balanced using post-stratification weights to match the final dataset to a representative portrait of Latino voters in the battleground states. The margin or error is +/-3.5% for topline results.

Key Findings

Below is a bullet point summary of our findings.

• 48% of Latinos cite cost of living and the inflation as their top concern: Protecting a woman’s right to an abortion has risen in concern for Latinos (23%), as the second most important issue facing voters.
• President Biden and the Democrats in Congress are even on favorability, 52% and 53%. Trump and Republicans in Congress remain underwater with, 32% and 31% favorability.
• Democrats lead Republicans +22 in a generic two-way ballot for Congress.
• A majority of Latinos (57%) believe Republicans are too extreme.
• 60% of Latinos believe MAGA Republicans are a threat to democracy.
• Latinos overwhelmingly support access to abortion. 71% support passing a federal law to protect abortion access. Abortion access was one of Latinos’ top-three issues for the first time.
• 65% of Latinos worry Republicans will make cuts to Healthcare, Social Security, and Medicare.

Summary

Cost of living and inflation remain the top concern for Latinos, with 48% of respondents citing it as one of their top three priorities. Democrats lead among Latinos in all of the battleground states, and they have a 22-point advantage over Republicans in a generic two-way ballot for control of Congress. President Biden and the Democrats in Congress are even on favorability at 52% and 53%, respectively. Trump and Republicans in Congress remain underwater, with 32% and 31% favorability, respectively.

A majority of Latinos (57%) believe “Republican policies and candidates have moved too far to the extreme right for me,” compared to 43% who think the same of Democrats moving to the left. Sixty percent of Latinos surveyed believe “MAGA Republicans are a threat to American Democracy,” and 65% are “worried about Republicans cutting healthcare, Social Security, and Medicare.”

Abortion Remains a Top Issue for Latinos

Latinos strongly disapprove of the Supreme Court stripping away abortion rights. For the first time in our polling, protecting a woman’s right to an abortion rose to the second most important issue for Latinos (23%), and 71% of respondents support passing a federal law to protect a woman’s right to have an abortion. This level of support has remained consistent throughout the year.

Latinos Support Biden Policies and Democrats’ Agenda

Latinos overwhelmingly support President Biden’s policies. The American Rescue Plan and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act enjoy the highest levels of support at 75% and 70%, respectively.

Elements of the Inflation Reduction Act, such as allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices (86%) and clean energy policies that address climate change and create jobs (81%), are also popular with Latinos in battleground states. Creating a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and DACA recipients remains popular, with 81% of respondents indicating they support the policy.

Democrats Have a Trust Advantage with Latino Voters

Democrats have a trust advantage over Republicans on every issue they were asked about: gas prices (+8), keeping our borders safe (+11), keeping the community safe (+12), inflation (+14), cutting taxes for the working class (+25), and education (+25), lowering health care costs (+31), abortion (+31), protecting immigrant rights (+36).