Hispanic voters turn away: 60% choose Democrats [U.S. Midterm Elections]

[Financial News] In the 2024 U.S. presidential election, Hispanic voters helped Donald Trump win the presidency. In this midterm election, however, they shifted toward the Democrats. This shows that cracks have emerged in the support base that underpinned Trump's return to power.
“Hispanic” refers to a person rooted in Spanish-speaking culture, regardless of race. In the United States, it generally refers to people from Latin America, including Mexico, Cuba and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and their descendants.
According to preliminary results from NBC News' exit poll on the 3rd (local time), 60% of Hispanic voters said they voted for Democratic House candidates. The share who chose Republican candidates was 35%. Democrats led by 25 percentage points.
The Democratic vote share was 9 percentage points higher than the 51% won by Kamala Harris, the party's candidate in the 2024 presidential election. The Republican share was 11 percentage points lower than the 46% won by then-President Trump.
The Democrats' share of the Hispanic vote recovered to its 2022 midterm level. However, it fell short of the 69% recorded in the 2018 midterms, during Trump's first term as president. Support rebounded, but did not return to its previous level.
The shift was more pronounced among men. The Democratic vote share among Hispanic men rose 11 percentage points, from 44% in the 2024 presidential election to 55% in this midterm election. Among women, it rose 7 percentage points over the same period, from 58% to 65%. The Democratic vote share increased for both men and women, but the increase was 4 percentage points greater among men.
The economy was the top concern for Hispanic voters. Forty-five percent of respondents named it the most important issue. The state of democracy followed at 25%, and immigration at 15%. The share naming the economy was three times the share naming immigration.
Voting choices also varied according to which issues voters prioritized. Among Hispanic voters who named the economy as their top issue, 59% chose the Democrats. Of those who prioritized healthcare, 72% voted Democratic; among those who cited the state of democracy, 81% did so.
By contrast, voters who prioritized immigration and crime cast more votes for Republicans. Among voters who named immigration as their top issue, 61% chose the Republicans. The Republican share among voters who prioritized crime was 70%.
Hispanic voters taking part in a midterm election for the first time also backed the Democrats. Eighteen percent of all Hispanic respondents said this was their first time voting in a midterm election. Of these, 73% chose Democratic House candidates.
The survey showed that Hispanic voters overall leaned toward the Democrats. It left the Republicans with the task of maintaining the support base they expanded in the previous presidential election, and the Democrats with the task of consolidating the support they had regained.


[email protected] Lee Seok-woo, International Affairs Correspondent Reporter