Kamala Harris Rebounds With Key Voters in Swing States Days Before Election

Vice President Kamala Harris has been boosted by polling that shows her standing among Latino voters is higher than Donald Trump’s, reversing a recent trend of dwindling support in the key demographic for Democrats.
The Latino vote may be very important in Tuesday’s election, especially as Florida International University’s Latino poll found that 80 percent of respondents were “very likely” to vote, which is higher than in previous elections.
Its latest survey of 1,500 Latino voters across the country also found that Harris had a commanding lead over Trump with a 54.7 percent favorability rating in key battleground states and 56.9 percent nationally.
Trump’s favorability was recorded as 27.7 percent in swing states and 33.4 percent nationwide, according to the survey, which was conducted October 10-22, with a margin of error of 2.9 percent.
Harris’ support among Latinos is close to Biden’s 59 percent to 38 percent lead over Trump in the 2020 election estimated by the Pew Research Center.
The Los Angeles Times reported that it was significant that it had surpassed the 41 percent backing Biden had in July, just after the poor debate performance that led to him pulling out of the presidential race.
Eduardo Gamarra, director of the Latino Public Opinion Forum at FIU’s Gordon Institute, told the Los Angeles Times that the shift in popularity “is explained by the departure of the president and the arrival of Kamala Harris.”
Newsweek has contacted both campaigns for comment.
Nearly half (45 percent) of respondents said the economy was the most important issue, with 11.1 percent citing reproductive rights and 8.8 percent saying it was immigration.
In a statement on FIU’s press release, Carlos Díaz-Rosillo, founding director of the Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom, said the poll showed Latino voters “are concerned with economic issues, such as inflation, job availability, and overall economic stability.”
The survey was conducted before remarks the comedian Tony Hinchcliffe made at a Donald Trump rally at the Madison Square Garden in New York in which he called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage,” sparking accusations of racism.
A Trump adviser distanced the former president from the joke, which was also denounced by Harris. However, the Democratic candidate has received the endorsement of two of the Latino community’s biggest stars, Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny and singer Jennifer Lopez, who condemned Hinchcliffe’s comments.
“It wasn’t just Puerto Ricans that were offended that day,” she told a Harris rally on Thursday. “It was every Latino in this country.”