SAN DIEGO — The Hispanic vote is an important segment of the voting population to both parties. Hispanic voters are expected to make up about 15 percent of all eligible voters in this year's presidential election, which is a new high.
"They're a growing community nationwide, and so particularly in an environment with razor thin margins deciding many of the races we'll be seeing in November, Latinos are going to play a decisive role in places not just like California, Texas and Florida, places with the highest Latino populations, but also places like North Carolina, Georgia, Nevada and certainly Arizona, which is now a significant battleground state," said Clarissa Martinez, Vice President of UnidosUS for the Latino Vote Initiative.
She said according to a recent poll, the top issues Latino voters are most concerned about are the economy, inflation, housing and wages. Voters are also concerned about gun violence and crime, she said.
Martinez said candidates from both parties need to do a better job of reaching out to Latino voters and showing them solutions.
"If we look at it the data, it is safe to assume the majority of Hispanic voters will end up supporting the Democratic nominee," Martinez said. "That said, what matters is by how many? The Democrats not only need to make sure they retain the 2/3 level of support they've been able to receive from Hispanic voters, but that they increase it."
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