The Deciders, August 2024: Swing State Hispanic Voters

Key Takeaways

Hispanic voters in swing states talk about whether they think Kamala Harris or Donald Trump would get more done in office
The focus group participants reveal how they feel about Harris’s achievements as vice president
These voters have concerns about the economy and share how these worries will affect their votes

Which Candidate Is a Bigger Agent of Change?

The swing state Hispanic voters were asked whether they thought Harris or Trump would be a bigger agent of change if elected. None of the voters thought Harris would make the most significant changes if she became president.

Here’s some of what they said:

“Yes, she has an ability to change, but I don’t think that she would have the support in order to do the changes. I think that there would be a lot of hold up for any changes that she may want to implement. So, I think Trump won’t have a hold up. I think he would have the opportunity and the ability, with the people in place to make the changes, good or bad.”

“I’m hoping that he’ll bring about some good change, I’m hoping that he’ll help inflation go down.”

Negative Views of Trump’s Changes

Several of the swing state Hispanic voters believe the changes that Trump would implement in office would be negative. Their comments included:

“That man is bringing a lot of change. It’s going to be corrupt and it’s going to be ugly. I want to see it to believe it.”

“I would say dismantling every meaningful aspect of our Democratic principles is a pretty big change.”

“I think he likes to flirt on the edge of what’s legal and law-abiding and that he’ll push a lot of issues, immigration policy, domestic policy, foreign policy, to the point where it has to keep being litigated by the Supreme Court or the states or Congress. So, it’s just going to cause more chaos and it’ll be more, in my opinion, negative change.”

Perceptions of Harris During the Biden Administration

The nine Hispanic voters don’t place blame on Vice President Harris for any of the failures of Biden’s presidency. However, they also don’t give her credit for any of the administration’s achievements. Here’s what they said:

“She wasn’t active enough to be blamed for anything.”

“In the years, I’ve lived in this country, I don’t remember seeing any vice president do anything or get a credit for anything. The president is the one to decide whatever going to be done.”

“Knowing Biden and his team, he had a lot of the power to sort of pick and choose their policies and strategies. It didn’t seem like, from what I’ve read, that she was a big player in pushing things one way or another.”

“In the years I’ve lived in this country, I don’t remember seeing any vice president do anything or get a credit for anything. The president is the one to decide whatever’s going to be done.”

How Voters Describe Harris

Six of the swing state Hispanic voters say they’re following the election very closely. However, only one of the nine participants in the focus groups saw Harris’s speech during the Democratic National Convention.

The voters were asked to name the first thing that comes to mind when they think of Harris. Their responses included:

“Unknown”

“Presidential candidate”

“Bipolar lady”

“Genocidal candidate”

“Ghost”

“Corrupt”

“Hiding”

“Prosecutor”

How Voters Describe Trump

These nine Hispanic voters were also asked to choose one word to describe Trump. Here’s what they said:

“Angry”

“Arrogant”

“Narcissist”

“Corrupt”

“Loud”

“Racist”

“Problem”

Which Candidate Would Voters Choose?

Based on their descriptions of Harris and Trump, these swing state Hispanic voters don’t approve of either candidate. If a two-candidate election took place on the day after they were interviewed, here’s how the nine of them would vote:

Donald Trump: 5
Kamala Harris: 3
Not Voting: 1

In a multi-candidate race, their votes would be divided like this:

Donald Trump: 4
Kamala Harris: 3
Cornel West: 1
Claudia De la Cruz: 1
Jill Stein: 0
Chase Oliver: 0

Which Previous Democratic Candidate Is Harris Like?

The Hispanic voters were asked which of the last three Democratic nominees for president – Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton and Joe Biden – they thought Harris was most similar to. Five said Biden, while three chose Clinton. Only one said Obama.

Comments from those who said Harris is most like Biden included:

“I feel like Biden is the epitome of milquetoast Democratic Center rightness and I just don’t see Kamala Harris straying too far from that. It’s not so much about Biden and Harris being indistinguishable from each other, just that they are both kind of very run-of-the-mill Democratic policy types.”

“I almost can’t separate her from Biden, I mean, in terms of policy. She just goes along, wishy-washy, doesn’t take a stand or take takes a stand and then changes her stance. So, she’s no Hilary.”

“I don’t really know where she stands. I feel like she’s just a replica, the shadow of Biden.”

“I think they have the same personality.”

A Top Concern for Voters

For these voters, the country’s economy is a top concern. Five of them said the U.S. economy is in “lousy shape.”

Here’s what these voters had to say about their economic worries:

“Goodness, where do you start? It’s everything from unemployment to jobs getting sent overseas, trade policies that we have.”

“I have children and grandchildren and now I’m helping them with their groceries. Because even though their salary is the same, everything’s increased by 20 and 30 percent. Now, I can help them because I’m a cheapskate and I saved my pennies and invested them over time, so it’s not hurting me the way it hurts them.”

“Now people are having multiple jobs, where in good years, you would have one job to pay for the necessities or the cost of living.”

“All this money going out to other countries, like Ukraine, and going to wars when we got people here that don’t eat, don’t sleep right, don’t have a shirt on their back. That’s the stuff that’s pissing me off. Take care of the people at home first, before you try to clean up anybody else’s mess.”

“Grocery prices, inflation, the fact that it’s so hard to purchase a house, especially a first house, right now.”

Economic Worries Will Influence Some Voters

Three of the nine swing state Hispanic voters said the economy will influence their votes in November. Their comments included:

“Seems like when the Democrats are in office the economy goes down, Republicans, economy goes up.”

“Thinking more about my children and grandchildren, I’d like to have them have the same opportunity that I had, of the American dream, of owning a home. I don’t see them being able to achieve that right now. They’re just living from hand to mouth.”

“I think Trump has more of a head for economics, as a businessman and again with budgeting. He just understands what it takes to be a successful businessman.”

To hear more about what critical voting groups are thinking about in this presidential election year, don’t miss any edition of The Deciders. Each month spotlights a different demographic group expected to play an outsized role in choosing the next president of the U.S.