WASHINGTON, D.C. — With all eyes on Texas as the road to the 2026 midterm elections heats up and Hispanic voter influence is felt, UnidosUS, the nation’s largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization, released today findings from a flash poll conducted among 200 Hispanic primary voters in Texas, who already voted or were 100% certain they would vote today.
By all accounts, voting participation in the Texas primary election has well exceeded 2022 levels, and Hispanics are an important part of that story. Latino voters, who make up over 25% of registered voters in the Lone Star state, have become a key swing factor and are playing a decisive role in today’s election — a story likely to be repeated in numerous national, state and local races this year. Yet a majority of Texas Hispanic primary voters say they were not contacted by any party, campaign or organization about voting in this election. Combined with the constant influx of Latinos coming of age and becoming eligible to vote in every election, this is a wake-up call for parties and candidates that positions matter and meaningful outreach is essential to win over these voters.
Underscoring sentiment in recent national polls, pocketbook issues were top of mind for Hispanic primary voters, followed by immigration concerns. These were the four top issues cited by voters when asked what the single biggest issue was driving them to vote in the primaries:
- Cost of Living (19%)
- Border Security (12%)
- Misconduct by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents (10%)
Other key findings include:
- Candidate choice of Hispanics voting in the Republican primary for the following races:
- U.S. Senate: Hispanic voters favored U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (47%) over Attorney General Ken Paxton (25%) and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt (18%).
- Governor: 72% supported Gov. Greg Abbott.
- Candidate choice of Hispanics voting in the Democratic primary for the following races:
- U.S. Senate: Hispanic voters favored State Rep. James Talarico (55%) over U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (42%).
- Governor: State Rep. Gina Hinojosa was the preferred candidate (55%) over former State Rep. Chris Bell (20%) and Andrew White (7%).
- Intensity of support for candidates by party: Among Republican primary voters, the plurality went to the polls to support President Donald Trump and the Republicans (45%), compared with 37% of Democratic primary voters who said they went to the polls to support what Democrats are doing.
- A similar number of Republican and Democratic primary voters said they were voting mostly to support and speak up for their community (36% and 37% respectively).
- Outreach to the Latino community: Overall, 53% of Hispanic primary voters say they were not contacted by any party, campaign or organization. Among those who were contacted, 60% said they heard from Democrats and 44% said they heard from Republicans (these numbers are not necessarily mutually exclusive).
- Economic situation: 40% of Latino primary voters say their economic situation has gotten worse in the past year. Only 20% of Hispanic primary voters say their economic situation has improved.
- Immigration and enforcement: One-third believe the Trump administration’s immigration actions violate civil rights and civil liberties and put U.S. citizens at risk of being detained and deported. Another third of those polled believe ICE is out of control and needs strong oversight and major reform. Only 14% support the administration’s approach to immigration enforcement and deportations.
- 2024 do-over: If the 2024 presidential election was held today, 26% of Latino primary voters who supported President Trump would vote for a different candidate, compared with 17% who say the same of former Vice President Kamala Harris.
About the Survey:
- UnidosUS commissioned a poll of 200 Latinos who voted early, or are certain to vote on election day, based on a listed sample matched to the voter file. There is a margin of error of +/- 6.9%.
- The pollsters randomly contacted Latino voters statewide by live telephone, text invite and online panels matched to the voter file, and screened to respondents who were certain to vote on March 3 or had already voted early.
- The survey was conducted Feb. 25-March 1, 2026.
- Interviews were conducted in English or Spanish at the discretion of each voter, and demographics were matched to known demographics of the Latino electorate.
- Overall, 65% of Latinos reported they voted in the Democratic primary and 35% voted in the Republican primary. The survey was implemented by BSP Research.
About BSP Research
BSP Research is a Latino-owned polling, research, and analytics firm headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 2021 by Matt Barreto and Gary Segura, who have more than two decades of experience in national polling and research, BSP Research is a leading research and analytic firm with expertise on the political and social views of the American population and beyond. BSP has industry-leading expertise in culturally competent research on communities of color and other forms of disadvantage, and extensive experience in bilingual polling and data gathering from all varieties of communities.
