On Sunday, NBC News and Telemundo released a poll that specifically looked at how Hispanic voters view the issues and political parties ahead of the midterms. Some of the analysis from the NBC talking heads on social media and the morning shows does not do the poll justice. While they acknowledge that the GOP has cut into the Democrats’ typical lead with the demographic since 2012, they underplay the disconnect between Democrats and Hispanic voters.
If the GOP practiced message discipline on a few critical issues, they could reach persuadable voters in the Hispanic community. In October of 2012, Democrats held a 42-point advantage with Hispanic voters. In 2020, it narrowed to 26 points and now stands at 21. Nearly 40% of respondents in the poll were under 35. This demographic traditionally leans to the left. However, according to Civiqs, among Hispanic registered voters in that age group, 22% of Democrats and 71% of independents disapprove of the job Joe Biden is doing. Support for Joe Biden increases with age, Civiqs claims.
According to NBC’s Mark Murray, Hispanic voters align with Democrats on abortion, addressing their community’s concerns, health care, and “protecting democracy.” The last item is a made-up category designed to align with Democrat messaging. But do Hispanic voters really align with Democrats on the other issues? Not when you look at the details.
Foreign policy is the only area where Hispanic voters give Biden a net positive rating at +5. With a little bit of work and messaging, Republicans could change that. According to many commentators, President Biden’s foreign policy has brought us closer to nuclear war than we have been since the Cuban Missile Crisis. The media is not covering Putin’s threats to use nuclear weapons adequately. Republicans should talk about them incessantly and place the blame for the war on President Biden’s greenlight of the Nordstream 2 pipeline.
Biden is almost 10 points underwater on border security and immigration with Hispanic voters. Twenty-five percent of Hispanic voters put those issues in their top two. When asked about them separately, 59% say border security is their most important issue. Another 43% have cost of living among their top two issues, with 35% selecting jobs and the economy. Biden is -13 on the economy and -25 on the cost of living. The GOP needs to take a wild guess that these are the most important concerns in the community as a whole and not some vague, separate category based only on ethnicity. Only 11% put healthcare in the top two issues, and 14% selected abortion.
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On abortion, the pollster made the question intentionally vague. The poll asked respondents if abortion should be legal in all cases. With the wording, only one-third appear to take the Democrat position of abortion on demand, throughout pregnancy, without apology. Two-thirds of Hispanic voters believe there should be at least some restrictions. How many have really contemplated what abortion through the ninth month means? Make them ask themselves by using clear language and presenting the stark alternative offered by Democrats.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) attempted to distinguish between the Democrats’ radical position and that of the Republicans with a bill codifying the same 15-week ban as Florida. Democrats cast this effort as a “nationwide ban” because Republicans were unprepared, lacking an aggressive, consistent counter-narrative. Coordination and messaging mistakes like this are inexcusable in the run-up to the midterms.
Seventy-eight percent of Hispanic registered voters described themselves as working and middle class, while 57% think the country is on the wrong track. The Biden administration is out of touch with working and middle-class Americans and appears clueless about how its economic and energy policies affect a vast swath of America. A few ads with clips of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttegeig telling Americans to buy electric vehicles with another of Joe Biden saying he will end fossil fuels could go a long way. As James Carville used to say, “It’s the economy, stupid.”
More Hispanic registered voters (34%) describe themselves as “moderate” than “liberal” or “very liberal” combined (33%). It is time for Republicans to point out how radical Democrats have become at every opportunity. The examples are endless, from pushing radical transgender policies in K-12 schools to energy policy. This is not your grandmother’s Democrat Party.
An additional 31% describe themselves as “conservative” or “very conservative.” The GOP should target 65% of the Hispanic vote, given Joe Biden’s complete departure from the middle lane. However, it is an uphill battle until they decide to stop letting the media sidetrack them with extraneous issues like Trump’s legal woes and the January 6 committee. Members of the GOP need to go on television and talk about the issues that matter to voters no matter what question the Democrats’ stenographers in the media ask them.
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