Latino Voters Shift Back Toward Democrats in Midterms After Trump's 2024 Gains

Latino voters moved sharply back toward Democrats in Tuesday's midterm elections, reversing much of the ground President Donald Trump gained with the group in 2024, according to exit polls and analyses. An NBC News exit poll found 58% of Latino men voted for Democrats and 39% for Republicans, while a CBS News exit poll showed 62% of Latino voters backed Democratic House candidates. The New York Times calculated that Hispanic voters shifted 28 points toward Democrats since 2024, versus 13 points for white voters and 41 points for men aged 18 to 29. In 2024, Trump won 54% of Latino men, a record for a Republican presidential candidate, and Latinos overall split 51% for Kamala Harris and 46% for Trump. CBS found more voters trusted Democrats on the economy, and voters were unhappy with Trump's handling of the economy, the Iran war and government corruption. A poll cited before the vote found 61% of Hispanic voters planned to back Democrats, including 11% who had voted for Trump. Marisa Franco of Mijente said ICE's actions would weigh on voters.

Politico, the left-leaning outlet, frames the result as a political earthquake, saying Latino voters have rushed back to Democrats and that Trump's inroads of the past decade have been completely reversed. Its available text offers no figures or named sources. The Daily Caller, on the right, uses the same basic finding but leads with Latino men and supplies the exit-poll numbers, the New York Times shifts, and the economy, Iran war and corruption as reasons for Trump's slide. Both agree on the scale of the swing back to Democrats. Alternative outlets Truthout and Democracy Now! differ by centering ICE enforcement and Franco's warning that Democrats cannot take Latino voters for granted, and they cite 44% Trump support in 2024 rather than 46%.