Dem Lead With Latinos Halved in Past Decade, Poll Says

The Democratic advantage among Latino voters has shrunk by half in the past decade, according to an NBC News/Telemundo poll released Sunday.

Fifty-four percent of Latino voters surveyed said they preferred Democrats to be in charge of Congress, compared with 33 percent who would prefer Republicans. That gap — now 21 points — was a 42 point difference in October 2012, according to NBC News/Telemundo.

The poll results come after Republicans made gains with Latino voters in the 2020 election. Republicans have also put forth a slate of Latino House candidates in the upcoming midterm elections.

The question of party preference has slid fairly steadily in the past decade, with a 26-point gap in October 2020, a 34 point gap in November 2018 and a 38-point gap in October 2016.

President Joe Biden’s approval rating in the latest NBC News/Telemundo poll was 51 percent, and his disapproval rating was 45 percent. {snip}

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Julio Vaqueiro, a Telemundo anchor, emphasized on Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that there wasn’t just “one Latino vote.”

“We talk a lot about that, but I don’t think it’s always understood,” Vaqueiro said. “Latinos are just like any other ethnic group. It’s important where they live, it’s important their age, where they come from, how they go to this country.”

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