A new survey from the Pew Research Center analyzes the political views of Latinos ahead of the midterm elections.
Credit: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg/Getty Images
(CNN) --
Although more Latinos say Democrats try harder to win their votes than Republicans, about half of them don't see a "big difference" in what the two political parties stand for, a new poll shows.
A recent survey by the Pew Research Center analyzes the political opinions of Latinos and the issues they consider most important in the midterm elections.
The survey was conducted in August among a randomly selected sample of 3,029 Latino adults, the center said.
Overall, 71% of Latino respondents said that the claim that the Democratic Party "strives to win over" Latino votes somewhat accurately describes their views, compared to 45% of Latinos who said the same about the Republican Party, according to the poll.
A significant portion -- between 42% and 48% -- of Latinos in certain groups said that the statement "Democrats are working hard to win Latino votes" described their views very well or extremely well.
Those groups included immigrants, Spanish-proficient Latinos, Catholics and evangelical Protestants, as well as Latinos ages 50 to 64 and those 65 and older, the survey shows.
Most Latinos, according to the survey, have a positive view of Democrats, but about a third of those surveyed said they don't believe the Democratic Party represents their interests or truly cares about Latinos.
advertising
When asked for their opinion on Republicans, 63% of those surveyed said they don't think the GOP really cares about Latinos, according to the poll.
The researchers also looked at the family origins of the respondents and found that those who identify as Mexican, Puerto Rican, Central American and South American were more likely to say that Democrats represent their interests well than to say the same about Republicans.
Meanwhile, Cubans were divided in their assessment of the Democrats and the Republicans.
Since the 2020 election, the idea of a surge in Republican Latino voter turnout has dominated headlines, and Republican Mayra Flores' victory in the special election for Texas' 34th Congressional District in June renewed interest in the topic.
But the survey shows that Latino party affiliation hasn't changed significantly in recent years, said Jens Manuel Krogstad, senior writer and editor at the Pew Research Center and lead author of the report.
Some 64% of Latino registered voters said they identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party and 33% identify with the Republican Party.
The researchers said previous Pew Research studies showed that Latino party affiliation has held steady since at least 2019.
The survey data shows that Latinos may not be completely off limits to the GOP.
Krogstad said Latinos "imperfectly fit into the nation's polarized two-party system" and are "charting their own course in some respects."
About half of Latinos don't think there is a "big difference" between what the Democratic and Republican parties represent.
Those with a high school education or less are more likely than those with at least a bachelor's degree to say there is hardly any difference between parties, the researchers said.
Most Latinos have positive views of the political party they are affiliated with, but some expressed favorable views of the opposing party.
About a third of Republican Latinos said it described their beliefs "at least somewhat well" to say that Democrats really care about Latinos.
About 21% of Latino Democrats said the same about the Republican Party, according to the survey.
A new survey from the Pew Research Center analyzes the political views of Latinos ahead of the midterm elections.
Credit: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Abortion is a key issue for the vote of almost 60% of Latinos
Latinos who participated in the survey commented on their opinion about the midterm elections.
Among those who declared themselves registered voters, only 30% said they had thought "a lot" about the election.
About half of registered Latino voters said they would vote for or lean toward a Democratic candidate and 28% said they would vote for a Republican candidate.
But about 18% said they would vote for another candidate or were unsure who they would vote for, the survey shows.
OPINION |
For Latinas, the right to abortion in Roe vs.
Wade is a fight we've been preparing for all our lives.
Registered Latino voters identified several issues that they consider important when making a voting decision, but the economy is a top issue.
At least 80% of respondents from this group said it is "very important," according to the survey.
This includes 90% of Republican Latinos and 75% of Democratic Latinos.
Most Latinos identified health care, education and violent crime as other issues important to them, but abortion and gun politics would play a significant role in Latino voting decisions, according to the survey.
The report's authors said the importance of abortion has increased among Latinos who are registered to vote, from 42% to 57%.
The change is largely driven by Latino Democrats, according to the survey.
When asked about their voting decisions, most Latino registered voters said they would probably or definitely not vote for a candidate who disagreed with them on abortion and gun policy, even if the candidate agreed with them. agree with them on most other issues.
61% of Latinos registered to vote said the same about immigration and the economy, according to the survey.
A 57% majority of Latinos said abortion should be legal in at least some cases and 73% of Latinos said controlling gun ownership is more important than protecting Americans' right to own guns, according to the poll. .
Pew Research surveyed 3,029 US Latino adults from August 1-14, using a nationally representative online panel.
The results for the full sample of Latino respondents have a sampling error margin of +/- 2.7 percentage points.
midterm electionsPolitical Parties
