The weight of the Hispanic vote is key in the midterms

The Hispanic vote is increasingly important. In the 2018 midterms and the 2020 presidential election, it proved to be decisive in choosing the country's representatives. Everything seems to indicate that it will be just as relevant in the upcoming elections that will be held on November 8.

According to an LSG analysis, the number of Hispanic-Americans eligible to vote in these midterms is now around 34.5 million. This makes them the fastest growing group among U.S. voters since the last midterms (back in 2018) when there were 29.8 million Hispanic Americans eligible to vote.

Growth has been exponential over the last decade. In 2008, only 9.2% of the voting population was Latino, while in 2022 the percentage has increased to 14.3%.

2022_Midterms_Análisis voto hispano- by VozMedia on Scribd

According to the same report, the Hispanic population grew steadily over the past four years across the country and now exceeds 10% of total eligible voters in 13 of the 50 states.

The states with the largest Hispanic voting population are New Mexico (44%), California (32%), Texas (32%), Arizona (25%), Florida (21%), Nevada (21%), Colorado (17%), New Jersey (16%) and New York (15%).

The Hispanic vote has diverse origins. 80.8% of Latino voters come from Mexico, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Cuba and the Dominican Republic. The remaining 19.2% are from other Latin American countries.

Young voters

One of the unique characteristics of Latino voters is that they are the group with the largest number of young voters. Specifically, the average Latino voter is around 39 years old, while the average U.S. voter is 48 years old. On the other hand, 32% of Hispanics are over the age of 50. This figure rises to 47% in the case of the rest of the U.S. population.

Their concerns are also diverse. In general, the Hispanic population is primarily focused on the economy and inflation. It is followed, in order of importance, by health services, the economy, gun violence and security.

The issues of concern to voters do not vary much for Hispanics, whether Republican or Democrat. In the case of Republican voters, in order of priority, the issues that most influence them when deciding how to vote are the economy, inflation, crime, gun violence, and education. However, Latino Democratic voters focus more on health care, the economy, inflation and education as priority issues when choosing their leaders.

What most Hispanic voters agree on is that they are dissatisfied with the Biden administration. Three out of four Hispanics say they aren't pleased with the direction the country is headed. More than half of respondents disapprove of the way Joe Biden is leading the United States.