LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Latinos are a critical voting bloc in Nevada and nationwide, but it's a mistake to credit them with the re-election of Donald Trump to the presidency, a panel of Latino leaders said in a media briefing on Tuesday.
The briefing came as some exit polls showed Trump gaining nearly half of the Latino vote — 46% — beating former Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, according to Axios.
However, according to a poll conducted by BSP Research in conjunction with the African American Research Collective, while Trump did gain among Latinos (and many other voter groups), most Latino voters cast their ballots for Vice President Kamala Harris.
The poll, conducted Oct. 18 through Nov. 4, interviewed 3,750 Latino voters and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 1.62 percentage points.
Gary Segura, co-founder of BSP Researach, disputed exit polls that showed large gains among Latinos for Trump. He said his poll found 62% of Latinos nationwide voted for Harris and 37% voted for Trump.
In Nevada, 64% voted for Harris and 35% for Trump, the poll found.
Only in Florida was the vote reversed, with 56% of Latinos voting for Trump and 43% voting for Harris.
Segura said even if no Latinos had voted at all, Trump would still have won the White House. But, he did allow that Trump may not have flipped some of the states he won from the Democrats this year — although that may not have affected the outcome of the election.
The result of Tuesday's election are part of a trend that transcends Latino voters. This is greater than any single demographic, and let's be clear: Laying the blame of a loss exclusively on Latino voters is not only irresponsible but dangerous.
The poll found the top issues motivating Latino voters were the same as those for many other demographic groups: the cost of living/inflation (52%), jobs and the economy (36%), housing affordability (27%) and health care costs (25%) were the most often cited issues.
Abortion ranked at number five, with 23%, and immigration reform for immigrants already in the country was number six at 21%. Issues at the U.S.-Mexico border were cited by 14% as a top issue.
When it comes to immigration reform, the poll found 73% said they preferred an increase in border security paired with a path to citizenship for so-called DREAMers, who were brought to the country illegally as children. The remaining 27% said they preferred an enforcement-heavy approach including deporting undocumented immigrants already in the country.
Concerns about the economy played to Trump's advantage in the election as he was able to connect Harris to inflation that had spiked but then began to recede under President Joe Biden's leadership.
In Nevada-specific results, the poll found:
- 81% of Latinos voted for Question 6, which began the process of amending the state constitution to enshrine abortion rights. Just 19% voted no.
- 62% reported they voted for a Democratic House candidate with 33% saying they chose the Republican. In Nevada, Democratic incumbents Dina Titus, Susie Lee and Steven Horsford won re-election, as did Republican Mark Amodei.
- 61% of Latinos said they voted for Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen with 33% saying they voted for Republican Sam Brown.
- 64% of Latinos said they voted for Harris in Nevada with 35% saying they voted for Trump.
In a surprising result, given the importance and size of the Hispanic electorate, 45% nationally said they were not contacted by anyone about their vote. Another 33% said they were contacted by Democrats, 23% said they were contacted by Republicans and 10% said they were contacted by a non-partisan, civic or other voting organization.
Nationally, 20% of Latino voters said they were casting their first vote in a presidential election. Another 16% said they voted in a presidential contest for the first time in 2020.
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