How Biden Drove Hispanics Away in 2020 and is Still Doing It

Less than half of Hispanics say Biden is honest and trustworthy, and only a third say Biden says what he means.

The Hispanic shift away from the Democratic party – and specifically the Biden administration – is something Market Research Foundation (MRF) has covered extensively.

The increasingly radicalized nature of the Democratic party with priorities rooted in weakening public safety, voter integrity and border security and undermining traditional values, have resulted in a significant decline in support for Biden among Hispanics.

The latest YouGov survey shows Biden’s favorability has dropped over 13 points with Hispanics since his inauguration, falling from 61% in late January of this year to 48% late last month. Former President Trump’s approval rating has been climbing steadily over the same time period, and the latest YouGov poll shows Trump sits at a 39% approval rating with Hispanics, up 13 points since January.

New analysis from the Pew Research Center shows that the exodus of Latinos away from the Democratic Party escalated in 2020. Pew shows Trump’s share of the Hispanic vote rose from 28% in 2016 to 38% in 2020. He also earned a significantly higher share of the Latino vote last year than the 25% that GOP house candidates earned in the 2018 midterms. Hispanic turnout rates are also on the rise, with Brookings recently pointing out that Hispanic turnout rose 6 points between 2016 and 2020.

Pew shows Trump’s share of the Hispanic vote rose from 28% in 2016 to 38% in 2020.

There are ample reasons why Hispanics may be shifting away from the Democratic Party. In April, Market Research Foundation noted that Democrats’ attempt to weaken voter ID laws could be a wedge issue for Hispanics. A March 2021 YouGov survey found 64% of Hispanics support a voter ID requirement, compared to 23% who oppose such a requirement. What is more, less than a third of Hispanics would support “universal voting”. A June 2020 poll found 58% of Hispanics oppose defunding the police.

An April 2021 report pointed to an increasing number of Hispanics who blame Biden for the illegal immigrant crisis at the southern border. Hispanics disapprove of Biden’s response to the immigration crisis by a margin of 41% to 37%.

An April report pointed to an increasing number of Hispanics who blame Biden for the illegal immigrant crisis at the southern border.

A May 2021 report showed 30% of Hispanics disapprove of Biden’s handling of crime, 29% of Hispanics disapprove of Biden’s handling of Israel, 29% disapprove of Biden’s handling of the economy, 27% disapprove of Biden’s criminal justice reform and 26% disapprove of Biden’s handling of civil liberties.

Polling also shows Hispanics have major hesitations about President Biden’s competence. The latest YouGov survey shows a full 36% of Latinos would feel ‘uneasy’ about how Biden would handle an international crisis.

Hispanics have major hesitations about President Biden’s competence and 36% would feel ‘uneasy’ about how Biden would handle an international crisis.

The same poll shows less than half of Latinos say Biden is honest and trustworthy, and a full 51% think Biden says what he wants people to hear, not what he means. Only 33% say they believe Biden says what he means. This is in stark contrast to impressions of former President Trump. Although at times Trump used coarse language, he gave the impression that he was telling people what he thought, not what he thought they wanted to hear.

Less than half of Latinos say Biden is honest and trustworthy, and a full 51% think Biden says what he wants people to hear, not what he means.

It is not only President Biden’s ineptitude and wildly unpopular Democratic efforts to defund the police and do away with voter ID laws that are causing Hispanics to defect. At the core, many Latino values are simply misaligned with the pillars of the radical left: hatred for capitalism, the rule of law, and traditional family values.

The 2021 NRSC Hispanic Battleground survey found Latinos support capitalism over socialism by a margin of 63% to 17%. What is more, 58% of Latinos believe too many Americans are living off the government and 50% say Democrat policies hurt families. Over two-thirds of Latinos (67%) say too many Americans are losing traditional values centered on faith, family, and freedom.

Over two-thirds of Latinos (67%) say too many Americans are losing traditional values centered on faith, family, and freedom.

Market Research Foundation’s comprehensive 2018 immigration survey found over two-thirds of Hispanics (67%) consider themselves Conservative or Moderate on economic issues, and slightly smaller shares consider themselves Conservative or Moderate on healthcare, education, and moral issues like same-sex marriage.

These findings should be very troubling to Democrats. While it is true Latinos have supported Democrats over Republicans in recent election cycles, that advantage is rapidly shrinking, and a significant amount of research indicates Biden has done more to push Latinos away from the Democratic Party than he has to build lasting support.  Latinos have serious concerns about Biden’s competency and integrity, and they outright disagree with the major pillars of the modern Democratic Party.