Third-Party Candidates Gain Favor Among US Latinos

According to a recent poll from Voto Latino released on Monday, Latino voters are more inclined to consider voting for a third-party presidential candidate.

Although President Joe Biden maintains a lead among Latino voters in key swing states at 59% to 39% over former President Donald Trump, younger and female Hispanic voters are showing openness towards Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running for president as an independent.

The poll was conducted with 2,000 registered Latino voters from April 25 to May 7 in Arizona, North Carolina, Nevada, Texas, and Pennsylvania.

CEO of Voto Latino, Maria Teresa Kumar, mentioned to The Hill that third-party candidates could potentially divert votes from Biden.

“What we found was really alarming, in the sense that 14% of them would vote for a third party, with a majority of the votes being taken away from Biden,” Kumar said. So instead of being at 59%, he dropped down to 49%. And Trump only fell by 5 points.”

Kumar noted that Latina women feel disheartened due to the slow pace of economic changes that affect their ability to make ends meet.

Voto Latino aims to raise $44 million to engage with Hispanic communities and ensure their participation in the upcoming elections. In 2020, the organization raised $36 million.

According to Kumar, Voto Latino plans to raise and spend $44 million this cycle to reach Hispanics in their communities to ensure their participation in the election.

“This idea that Trump is gonna come into office and overthrow democracy on day one, he won’t. But I am confident that what he will do is make America a democracy on paper more akin to Latin America than anything else we have seen. And in that, only a few thrive,” Kumar told The Hill.