#latino-voters

#latino-voters

That's close to where political preferences in this state have stayed pretty steadily since the 1990s, when a tide of Latino voters became Democrats because Republicans led by then-Gov. Pete Wilson supported the 1994 Proposition 187, which threatened to deprive undocumented immigrants of public schooling, most medical care and other services. Much of the measure was later thrown out by the courts.

And it left little doubt that the most important gains Trump made between his 2020 defeat and his 2024 win were not among young voters or Black voters or white working-class voters, but among Latino voters: In 2020, Joe Biden won Hispanic voters by 25 percentage points, and Hispanic voters supported Hillary Clinton by an even wider margin in 2016. But Trump drew nearly even with Kamala Harris among Hispanic voters, losing among them by only 3 points.

Desperate not to lose the House in the midterms, the president sought to rig the game. He pressured legislatures in red states to create new Republican-leaning districts, and lawmakers duly redrew their maps. That weakened some safe red seats, but the GOP assumed that it would hurt Democrats more. Last Tuesday's results demonstrate the folly of Trump's gamble.

A new poll in the New York City mayoral race just landed. This is the first poll focused exclusively on New York City Latino voters in this electoral cycle, and will likely be the only one: few polls are ever taken to take the pulse of the issues important to Latino voters and the candidates they prefer. The Hispanic Federation, which commissioned this poll, must be commended for this admirable and needed work.