LOS ANGELES — There are around 36 million eligible Latino voters this year, up 4 million from 2020, making them the second-largest voting bloc in the country.
However, given the diversity within the community, Latino voters do not all have the same political views.
A recent poll by the Pew Research Center shows Vice President Kamala Harris has a 57% support among Latino voters, while former President Donald Trump has 39% support with this group.
The same poll showed all Latino people shared the economy as their main issue, but among those who support Harris, this was followed by health care and gun policy as their top three. Those who support Trump listed violent crime and immigration as their second and third issues.
For lifelong Democrat Chris Chavez, his support for the party comes from the values he says are exemplified in policy. He points to the Affordable Care Act for the health care his mother has been able to receive. This year, his top issues are the environment, economy and preserving democracy.
"While Trump's actions on and since Jan. 6 were immediately disqualifying for me, I am also concerned that he will likely have at least two more Supreme Court judge appointees. This would mean the majority of Supreme Court judges will be selected by one president," Chavez said.
Given his Latino heritage, Chavez said California’s Proposition 187 from 1994, that previously banned undocumented immigrants from using state services like health care and public education, also solidified his party affiliation.
While the poll results show Democrats still have a clear advantage, the party has lost some ground with Latino voters, according to Mark Hugo Lopez, co-author of the research.
"Interesting thing about Latino voters is that they are now seen more as a swing vote than they have been in a long time," said Lopez, director of race and ethnicity research at Pew Research Center.
He noted that the reasons why Latino people are choosing their candidates also vary by candidate preference — where 54% of those supporting the Democratic ticket said their vote is more against Trump than for Harris, while 70% of those supporting Trump say their vote is for him, making this an 8% bump compared to 2020.
Lopez says women are also playing a part in this shift.
"Men are somewhat more likely to support Trump than, say Hispanic women," he said. "However, notice that the share of Hispanic women supporting Trump is up from what it was back in 2016. So maybe, only 20% or so back then supported Trump in the election then. But today, 37% say they're going to vote for him," said Lopez.
That's the case for Andrea Gonzalez, a student at Cal State Long Beach. Having voted for Joe Biden in 2020, she is among the group of Latinas ditching the Democratic Party and supporting Trump this election.
Gonzalez said her mother first switched to the Republican party and shares anecdotes of political discussions they would have when they still belonged to different parties.
However, it wasn’t until moving out that Gonzalez began to agree with her mother, saying having to pay her own bills had a big impact on this change of views.
"Obviously, inflation inflation is a big one. You know, people are seeing it when they're pumping gas, when they're buying groceries," said Gonzalez.
That's why the economy is her top issue, followed by tighter border restrictions and foreign policy.
"I think under the Trump administration, there wasn't new wars, which was really good," Gonzalez said.
Like Chavez, culture also had a role in Gonzalez's decision, saying she saw the conservative values she grew up with in the Republican Party.
"Hispanic people are very conservative, you know, in their own ways, maybe not like Americanized, you know, but they're still very conservative," Gonzalez said.
Still, Lopez says voter turnout will be very important to see really see where suport is going to fall for this voting bloc.
It's why Chavez stresses the importance of people being active in all races.
"If there's anything I would hope and, you know, strive for, it's making sure that we're not just as both Latinos, but also as voters, that we're really paying attention to the whole gamut of issues from the White House down to City Council and beyond," said Chavez.