New Pre-Convention Poll of US Latino Voters Says Biden Has 66% Support to Trump’s 24%

In this March 10, 2020 file photo, Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks to members of the press at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

A national poll of U.S. Latino voters released Monday hours before the official start of the Democratic National Convention said that former Vice President Joe Biden has 66% support, with President Trump garnering 24% support.

Conducted by SOMOS US, UnidosUS and Latino Decisions, the poll was taken between August 7 and August 15. It also stated that U.S. Latinos are increasingly blaming Trump for the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Full toplines of this latest poll can be found on the Latino Decisions website here. (NOTE: Latino Decisions co-founder Matt Barreto is a member of the Partnership Advisory Council for the Priorities USA Super PAC, which was identified by the Biden campaign as its preferred Super PAC. Baretto has also been hired by the Biden campaign. In the past, Latino Decisions has told Latino Rebels that Barreto is not involved in polls like the one released on Monday before the DNC convention.)

Biden’s 66% in this poll is the same as Latino support for Hilary Clinton in 2016. It is lower than the overall Latino support for Barack Obama in 2008 (67%) and 2012 (71%).

The poll also added results from battleground states:

• Arizona: 63% Biden, 29% Trump
• Colorado: 71% Biden, 21% Trump
• Florida: 55% Biden , 41% Trump
• North Carolina: 61% Biden, 24% Trump
• Pennsylvania: 59% Biden, 28% Trump

In Texas, Biden holds a 66% to 21% over Trump with U.S. Latino voters. In New York, New Jersey and California, Biden has 70% support of U.S. Latinos.

“This poll is a roadmap to victory, and shows that the community sees Biden/Harris as having our backs on the issues that keep us up at night,” said Henry R. Muñoz, III, a former DNC official who is SOMOS US co-founder and founder of Momento Latino. “And the current administration is now seeing what happens when you ignore the people’s concerns and cries for support.”

“This is the third time we have done this type of poll, and each time we have sounded the alarm that Latinos in America are being left behind and it is costing lives and livelihoods. And every time, we have found that healthcare is the chief issue for Latino voters so it’s no surprise that they are moving their support behind the candidate that has a history of expanding it for their communities. Latinos will be the margin of victory this year, and victory goes through the states in this poll, and on the issues in this poll,” Muñoz added.

The poll noted that 69% of “Latino registered voters say they are certain to vote, compared with 62% in May,” according the a release about the poll.

“Yet, 64% of Latino registered voters have not been contacted by either party, candidates or civic groups about registering or voting this November,” the release added.

Other takeaways include:

• “Latino disapproval of the President’s handling of the pandemic is intensifying: 70% disapprove up from 56% disapproval in May.”
• “On a scale of 1-10, Trump’s trust level has fallen from 3.3 to 3.1 since May.”
• “The poll found that fully half of all Latinos have lost income due to pay cuts, job loss, and/or having to close a business they own.“
• “More than 80% worry about the safety of both children and staff returning to a school facility in person.”
• “Nearly 8 in 10 are worried that their kids are falling behind academically due to distance learning, and 84% said their school had yet to provide technological assistance.”
• “Remote learning isn’t an option for many Latinos either. When polled, 38% said that there weren’t enough computers in the home for their children to use for online schooling and 36% said that there wouldn’t be an adult in the home to supervise.”

“’Disproportionate” is the defining word for what Latinos are experiencing. We are overrepresented among essential workers helping America survive the pandemic, yet being left out of health and economic relief while a disproportionate number in our community are getting sick and dying,” Janet Murguia, President and CEO of UnidosUS, said. “As the school year begins, eight in ten respondents said their children’s schools are not providing technological assistance, and need to provide basic information about their children’s progress. And as the parties head into their conventions, 64% of registered Latino voters said they have not heard from parties or candidates. Equitable relief, and meaningful outreach, must happen immediately.”

The poll surveyed 1,842 Latino adults. The full sample contains a +/- 2.3%margin of error.  Some questions directed only to 1,488 registered voters had a +/- 2.5% margin of error. For state oversamples (approximately 240 respondents), the margin of error was +/- 6.3%.

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Julio Ricardo Varela is founder and publisher of Latino Rebels, part of Futuro Media. He tweets from @julito77.