The poll was conducted in collaboration with Univision and the University of Texas, among others. A thousand registered voters were surveyed, 400 of whom identified as Latino.
“We asked the question of whether Democrats or Republicans cared about their issues,” said Sergio Garcia-Rios, a political scientist at the University of Texas. “There’s a higher level of disappointment from both parties. Both of them, Republicans and Democrats, have sort of failed them.”
The poll found Nevada Latinos are more concerned about the cost of health care, wages and jobs than the general public. Overall, Latinos are a community that has been historically underpaid. Last year, a McKinsey study on economic mobility found Latinos are underpaid annually by $288 billion nationwide.
When Latinos do switch parties, Garcia-Rios says, it’s pointing to a larger way in which Latinos see political machinations.
“What it shows is Latino sophistication, that they’re looking at the issues rather than the candidate. Rather than blindly following one party, they’re assessing which party might bring them the answer,” said Garcia-Rios.
He adds party affiliation isn’t about who’s the biggest personality but which party can focus on the issues that Latinos want addressed, which could change from election to election.
Produced with assistance from the Public Media Journalists Association Editor Corps funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.
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