Inflation, housing, jobs and wages top Latino voter concerns in CA

Posted by Admin September 6, 2024 Jobs

California’s Latino voters are most concerned with pocketbook issues, according to a new UnidosUS pre-election poll released Friday.

Less than two months before Election Day, inflation, affordable housing and jobs and wages are their top concerns.

What You Need To Know

Inflation, affordable housing and jobs and wages are the top concerns of California’s Latino voters, according to a new UnidosUS pre-election poll

Immigration ranked fifth, particularly a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children

Democrats are more trusted than Republicans among the state’s Latino voters, the poll found

Still, 30% of Latino voters said they “didn’t know” or that “neither” or “both” political parties would be better at addressing their top concerns

“The Latino community plays a powerful role in California’s economy and prosperity, yet the poll shows many are seriously concerned about their own economic outlook,” UnidosUS California State Director Esmeralda Lopez said in a statement.

The poll from the country’s largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization said the cost of food and necessities, such as gas prices, and the lack of available and affordable rentals or homes for sale topped their concerns.

Immigration ranked fifth among Latino voters’ concerns, particularly a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.

The poll found that Democrats are more trusted than Republicans among Latino voters. While Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris leads GOP nominee Donald Trump 62% to 28% among California’s Latino voters, 30% said they “didn’t know” or that “neither” or “both” parties would be better at addressing their top concerns.

Of those polled, 27% said they plan to vote early, 39% plan to vote by mail and 34% will vote on Election Day. More than half (54%) said they had not been contacted by either political party or a voter organization this election cycle.

This year, 22% of California voters will be voting in a presidential election for the first time. More than a third (36%) of the California electorate is new since the 2016 presidential election.

One in six registered voters in California, or 3.2 million women, is a Latina female, according to the Center for a New California.

“The candidates who authentically engage Latina voters and demonstrate a plan to address the issues negatively impacting their families and loved ones will not only earn the votes of Latina women,” Center for a New California Executive Director Pablo Rodriguez said in a statement, “but also earn the votes of Latino voters as a whole.”

In 2020, President Biden won the Latino vote 3 to 1 compared with Donald Trump in California, according to the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Initiative.