Voters make selections at their voting booths inside an early voting site on Oct. 17, 2024 in Hendersonville, North Carolina. (Photo by Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)
Latinos in North Carolina drastically supported Vice President Kamala Harris over President-elect Donald Trump, according to polling released by UnidosUS.
In the Tar Heel State, 65 percent of Latinos voted for Harris compared to 33 percent for Trump, according to the survey.
Latino voters did not provide the margin of victory for Trump in any state, the poll found.
There were similar margins of support in the gubernatorial race: 64 percent of Latino voters backed Democratic Gov.-elect Josh Stein over Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson.
In the leadup to the election, speakers referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage” during a Trump rally at Madison Square Garden in New York.
“My reaction, as well as many other Puerto Ricans, was visceral,” Franike Miranda, president and CEO of Hispanic Federation, said. “The participation rate of Puerto Ricans and other Latinos in Pennsylvania increased noticeably after the Madison Square Garden rally.”
Miranda cited a nine point shift in Latino voter sentiment in Pennsylvania towards Harris.
Cost of living and inflation were the top priorities for Latino voters, the poll found. They were also concerned about jobs and the economy, housing costs and affordability, and healthcare costs.
The UnidosUS 2024 American Electorate Poll about Hispanic voters sampled 9,405 voters across the country, including 3,750 Latino voters. The sample includes 300 Latinos in North Carolina.
It was conducted between Oct. 18 and Nov. 4 in mixed mode — 50 percent online, 25 percent live telephone interviews, and 25 percent text. The questions were offered in both English and Spanish. There is a margin of error of plus or minus 1.01 percentage points.
“The results of Tuesday’s elections were part of a trend that transcends Latino voters,” Melissa Morales, founder and president of Somos Votantes, said. “This is greater than any single demographic”
“Let’s be clear, laying the blame exclusively on Latino voters is not only irresponsible, but dangerous and feeds into the agenda of division and hate,” Morales added.