Democrats 'Flabbergasted' by Lack of Latino Support
Liberal pollsters are saying they are confounded by the fact that large numbers of Latinos are supporting President Donald Trump instead of anti-Trump Democrats.
“My instant analysis is it’s because of the economy,” Fernand Amandi, principal at the Democrat polling firm Bendixen & Amandi International, told CNN.
“These are people who are not necessarily paying attention to every inning of political baseball,” he said. “They are working. They are maybe getting a little bit more money.”
And that translates into support. The most recent NBC/Wall Street Journal national poll found Trump’s approval rating at 39 percent among Latinos. That’s well about the 28 percent of the Latino vote he received in the 2016 election.
Amandi said Latinos should be supporting Democrats due to Trump’s position on issues such as illegal immigration.
“I still think it’s a little too soon to push the panic button, but having said that, we are not seeing the types of numbers with Hispanic voters that we should be seeing with the most hostile person to ever hold public office against Hispanics as the president,” he said. “And that in and of itself is a concern.
“I’m flabbergasted.”
Joshua Blank, manager of polling and research at the University of Texas at Austin’s Texas Politics Project, said the assumption Latinos will be Democrats flies in the face of the reality he sees in Texas.
“The reality is there are about one-third of Texas Hispanics who hold relatively restrictionist attitudes on immigration, support Republican positions, support Republican candidates. … It’s not that Trump comes along and Texas Hispanics are saying: ‘What’s going on here?’ It’s what has been going on here, and they have already arrived at those opinions,” Blank said.
Under Trump, Latino unemployment has reached record lows.
In June, the unemployment rate for Latino adults was 4.6 percent, making it the lowest rate on record since 1973, when Latino unemployment was first tracked, CNS News reported.
Since February 2017, the Latino unemployment rate has averaged about 5 percent. During the Obama administration, Latino unemployment averaged 9.4 percent.
African American unemployment is the lowest ever recorded in our country. The Hispanic unemployment rate dropped a full point in the last year and is close to the lowest in recorded history. Dems did nothing for you but get your vote! #NeverForget @foxandfriends
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 8, 2018
Steve Cortes, a commentator with CNN, wrote in a Real Clear Politics Op-Ed that the issue really is the economy.
“I believe Hispanics are generally very practical people,” Cortes wrote, “and seek from government not a laundry list of deliverables but rather the conditions in our country for the increased prosperity and security of our communities. Policies that stimulate small business are especially helpful since Hispanics are, statistically, by far the most entrepreneurial demographic in America.
“So, as President Trump pursues policies that drive growth and public safety — such as tax cuts and cracking down on the MS-13 gang — no wonder his popularity rises apace among Latinos.”
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