Support for Trump grows slightly among California Latinos, new poll shows
A third of likely Latino voters in California say they support President Donald Trump, nearly the same percentage as likely white voters, according to a Public Policy Institute of California survey released Wednesday night.
In September, 64% of likely Latino voters said they would vote for former Vice President Joe Biden, while 25% said they would vote for Trump.
In this newly released October survey, 57% of likely Latino voters said they would vote for Biden, 33% for Trump.
Approval of Trump also rose, from 27% approval among Latino voters in September to 35% approval this month.
Mark Baldassare, president of the Public Policy Institute of California, said the “slight gain” in support for Trump among Latino voters could reflect shifting focus on issues, with discussion of immigration less prominent now.
“Immigration had been a front-and-center issue in the (2016) presidential election and over the last few years. It has really not surfaced much in the last month as an issue,” he said.
The presidential campaigns are battling for Latino votes in other states, such as Nevada, Arizona and Florida. In California, the political parties are trying boost Latino votes in close congressional races.
The poll also has found more support for Trump among California Latinos than he had in 2016 despite concern over his immigration policies, such as a 2018 policy that separated migrant children from their parents at the Mexico border, and disparaging remarks he’s made about immigrants.
When Trump faced off against Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, 12% of likely Latino voters told PPIC in the October before the election that said they were casting their ballot for Trump, while 71% said they were voting for Clinton.
Among likely white voters in California, support for Biden and Trump remained the same since September, with about 55% of white likely voters in favor of Biden, compared to 35% in favor of Trump.
Notably, Baldassare said Latino enthusiasm over the presidential election was lower compared to white voters. About 62% of Latinos said they were more enthusiastic about voting this November than usual, compared to 75% of whites.
The findings are based on a survey of 1,701 California adult residents between Oct. 9 through Oct. 18. California is not a swing state, and Biden is expected to claim the state’s 55 electoral votes. Overall, the PPIC survey shows that 58% of likely voters favor Biden over Trump.
This story was originally published October 21, 2020 at 9:00 PM with the headline "Support for Trump grows slightly among California Latinos, new poll shows."