Nearly 1 in 4 of North Carolina Latinos will be voting in their first presidential election this fall. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Cost-of-living issues – inflation, wages, and affordable housing – top the list of concerns for North Carolina’s Latino voters, according to a new survey.
UnidosUS, the nation’s largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization, released the findings Thursday based of the polling of 2,800 registered Latino voters nationwide, including 300 in North Carolina.
What the organization found was that 24% of North Carolina Latinos will be voting in their first presidential election this fall. Forty percent of the North Carolina’s Latino electorate is new since the 2016 presidential election. Another way of looking at that is that they were too young to vote when Donald Trump first ran for president.
Democrats are more trusted than Republicans, according to the survey.
Gary Segura, president of BSP Research (Screengrab from UnidosUS 2024 poll release)
And Vice President Kamala holds a +29-point lead (59% to 30%) in support among Latino voters over Trump.
“Latinos in North Carolina are like most Latinos in other parts of the US. They want action on quality-of-life issues.” explained Gary Segura, president of BSP Research, in a Thursday call with reporters. “The data suggests that they trust one party significantly more than the other to deliver those changes, though both parties clearly have an opportunity to do better.”
Nearly half (49%) said they have not been contacted about this election cycle by either of the major political parties or supporting organizations.
In a purple state that will be decided by a razor thin margin, the Latino vote could decide the outcome of many races.
“Both political parties are guilty of political malpractice by failing to reach out to the Latino community,” Segura said in underscoring the lost opportunity.
Clarissa Martinez de Castro (Screengrab from UnidosUS 2024 poll release)
Clarissa Martinez de Castro, vice president of the UnidosUS Latino Vote Initiative, echoed that sentiment.
“I continue to be baffled by the under-outreach considering these numbers. We have repeatedly said that candidates matter, their positions matter, and meaningful outreach is essential. And of course, that is particularly true in North Carolina where one in four Latinos will be voting in a presidential for the first time,” Martinez de Castro said.
One reason outreach is critical is that 35% of those voters say they plan to vote early, 22% will vote by mail, leaving 42% to vote on Election Day.
On the issue of education, 59% said providing adequate funding for public education was the most important issue for elected officials to address.
On abortion, a key issue for many women this election cycle following the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade, 73% of North Carolina Latinos oppose making abortion illegal or taking that decision away from others.
When asked about immigration, 49% of Latino voters said providing a path to citizenship for long-residing, undocumented immigrants and Dreamers should be a top action item for those being elected. Their top enforcement policy was cracking down on human smugglers and drug trafficking.
Martinez de Castro noted that there is a common misperception that the majority of Latinos in North Carolina and the U.S. are immigrants, undocumented and therefore ineligible to vote.
“Actually eight out of 10 are United States citizens and of the remaining two, one is actually a legal permanent immigrant, and the last one is undocumented.” said Martinez de Castro. “So, it’s almost the complete opposite of the perception that is out there.”
Currently, Latinos represent more than 15% of the votes cast in the state.
Irving Zavaleta, state director for Mi Familia Vota, said through their nonpartisan programs the goal is to register 3,500 voters in North Carolina.
“This election is a critical moment for our voices to be heard and for our communities to shape the policies that will directly impact our lives,” said Pilar Rocha-Goldberg, president and CEO of El Centro Hispano. “Together, we can drive meaningful change for the issues that matter the most to our communities.”
Both major political parties should be doing more to engage North Carolina’s eligible Latino voters. Source: UnidosUS
