A coalition of progressive-leaning organization is challenging what it says were misleading exit polls about how Latinos voted in last week’s elections.
UnidosUS led a news conference Tuesday to share the results of their 2024 American Electorate Voter Poll, conducted by BSP Research and the African American Research Collaborative (AARC). The groups argued their exit poll — which surveyed 3,750 Latino voters, about 300 of them in Texas — is more accurate than others because it was more representative of different subgroups.
“We know there’s been a lot of chatter about Latino voters,” said Clarissa Martinez De Castro, vice president of the Latino Vote Initiative. “Many of us who have been working to increase Latino voter participation at times were joking that it felt like Latino voters were being more talked about than talked to.”
The poll was conducted from October 18 to November 4, and was available in English and Spanish, depending on the language preference of the respondents.
Gary Segura, co-founder of BSP Research, said the intent was to help get the story correct about communities of color and the election. While overall Republicans made major gains among Latino voters in this election, the groups’ exit poll found 62% of voters voted for Vice President Kamala Harris, compared to 37% for President-elect Donald Trump. In Texas, the groups found similar numbers: 60% to 38%.
According to the poll, the top five concerns for Latino voters in Texas mirrored the concerns of Latino voters in other states: cost of living, jobs and economy, health care costs, abortion and housing.
“This election was a referendum on the economy,” Segura said. “And while polling shows that, in fact, Vice President Harris was able to begin to close the gap on the economy, the top issue for Latino voters, in the end, it was not enough to overcome the rightward shift that swept the country.”
Other exit polls found Trump won 55% of Latino voters in Texas. He also swept nearly all 18 of the state’s border counties, according to analysis by ProPublica.
Vanessa Cárdenas, executive director of the immigration reform organization America’s Voice, said going forward, candidates need to ensure that Latinos see themselves in economic policies and “ensure that we continue to fight to provide our community with more opportunities, not less.”
Priscilla Rice is KERA’s communities reporter. Got a tip? Email her at price@kera.org.
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