Latino registered voters concerned about economic issues, prefer Democrats in the midterms

Washington, DC, October 14, 2022--A new Washington Post-Ipsos survey of Latino registered voters finds that they are optimistic about their future, even as they deal with a tough economic climate. They report that the economic climate, particularly increasing prices, is the main issue impacting their vote. And while Latino registered voters prefer Democrats on most issues, on the economy, they are split with as many saying they trust Republicans as Democrats.

Latino Americans are optimistic about the future, even as they confront a bleak economic present.

• Four in five (78%) of Latinos say the nation’s economy is not so good or poor.
• However, most (60%) are optimistic about their family’s financial situation over the next 12 months.
• Additionally, three-quarters (76%) say it is a good time to be a Hispanic person in America.

Almost all Latino registered voters say economic issues are important to their vote. However, health care, crime, and education are also major issues.

• Four in five Latino RVs say that rising prices (87%) or the availability of jobs (74%) are extremely or very important to their vote.
• Similar levels say that health care (86%), crime (80%), and gun violence (80%) are important issues.
• Social issues such as abortion (69%), immigration (69%) or racial discrimination (69%) are concerns to slightly fewer, though still a supermajority.

Latino registered voters prefer the Democratic Party to the Republican Party across most issues.

• When asked how well either party represents their interests, 59% say the Democratic Party does so very or somewhat well compared to 38% saying the same of the Republican Party.
• When asked who they trust, Latino RVs say the Democrats on most issues including abortion, climate change, LGBTQ issues, gun violence, public schools, or immigration.
• However, on the number one issue of rising prices, Latino RVs are split, with 30% trusting Democrats and 33% trusting Republicans. The plurality (36%) say neither.
• The majority of Latinos (60%) say abortion should be legal and oppose (61%) the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision.

About the Study

This poll was jointly sponsored and funded by The Washington Post and Ipsos. The poll includes a random sample of 1,933 Hispanic adults in the United States, of which 1,088 are validated registered voters. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish; 32 percent of Hispanic adults and 19 percent of registered voters were interviewed in Spanish. KnowledgePanel appended registered voter status and past vote history to the full sample using Aristotle’s national voter file list. Respondents who self-reported that they were registered to vote and who had their status confirmed in the voter file match are considered validated registered voters.   

The questionnaire was administered with the exact questions in the exact order as they appear in this document. Demographic questions are not shown. If a question was asked of a reduced base of the sample, a parenthetical preceding the question identifies the group asked. Phrases surrounded by parentheticals within questions indicate clauses that were randomly rotated for respondents.

Ipsos conducted sampling, interviewing and tabulation for the survey using the KnowledgePanel, a representative panel of Hispanic adults ages 18 and over living in the United States. KnowledgePanel members are recruited through probability sampling methods using address-based sampling. Panel members who do not have internet access are provided with a tablet and internet service.

This survey uses statistical weighting procedures to account for deviations in the survey sample from known population characteristics, which helps correct for differential survey participation and random variation in samples. The Hispanic adult sample was weighted by sex, age, region, metropolitan status, education, household income and detailed Hispanic origin to match Census Bureau’s 2022 Current Population Survey (CPS) March Supplement. The overall sample included additional adjustments for English language proficiency from the 2019 American Community Survey (ACS), and for religious affiliation according to 2020-2022 Pew NPORS surveys. Finally, adjustments for the 2020 voting status came from the November 2020 CPS Voting and Registration supplement while the 2020 presidential vote choice came from the average estimates for Hispanic presidential vote across NEP exit poll, AP VoteCast and Pew validated voter survey. For the subset of Hispanic validated registered voters, the general population weight was further adjusted to match up the population demographics by sex, age, education, region, detailed Hispanic origin, as well as 2020 voting status and presidential vote choice. The demographic and voter status benchmarks came from the November 2020 CPS Voting and Registration Supplement.

All error margins have been adjusted to account for the survey’s design effect, which is 2.0 for registered voters in this survey. The design effect is a factor representing the survey’s deviation from a simple random sample and takes into account decreases in precision due to sample design and weighting procedures. Note that sampling error is only one of many potential sources of error in this or any other public opinion poll.

Group                      Sample size   Error margin

Hispanic adults              1,933      +/- 3 points

  Registered voters          1,088          4

  Half sample voters       528-560          6

  Mexican American voters      604         5.5

  Puerto Rican voters          146        11.5

  Cuban American voters        106        13.5

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Chris Jackson
Senior Vice President,
Public Affairs, U.S.
[email protected]

Mallory Newall
Vice President,
Public Affairs, U.S.
[email protected]

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