Hispanic males lean Trump: poll

Hispanic males are more prone to vote for former President Donald Trump than Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris, according to a new poll from The Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Both campaigns have sought the support of America’s Hispanic voters, which has become as electorally volatile as any group in the US and can make the difference between victory and defeat in some battleground states with a high Hispanic population. Trump appears to be making serious inroads into half of that population by appealing more to Hispanic men than women.

While about 60 percent of Hispanic female voters polled viewed Harris somewhat or very favorably, only 45 percent of Hispanic male voters could say the same thing, according to the AP/NORC poll conducted from Sept. 12 to 16. "She wasn't the one that implemented the route this country has taken, but she's been there and done nothing that merits I vote for her," Antonio Melcon, a 65-year-old GOP supporter from Florida told the AP of Harris. "I would definitely never vote for her."

Some men are not immediately jumping on the Trump bandwagon, however. Sebastian Diaz, a 51-year-old Independent voter from Massachusetts, told the AP that he sees Harris "somewhat favorably" because he likes her political ideology while he views Trump “very unfavorably” because he views the former president as "a racist bigot."

But Harris’ numbers are dangerously low when Hispanic men were asked if she would make a good president. Harris is only scoring 50 percent with Hispanic women on that question but only one-third of Hispanic men could agree with that assessment, according to the poll. While Trump had a relatively high negative factor with Hispanic women, 60 percent of them thought he would not make a good president. However, that number dropped to 50 percent when Hispanic men responded to the poll.

Hispanic men are also enamored with Trump’s toughness, with 50 percent saying Trump is “tough enough to be president.” Only 33 percent of Hispanic women could say that in the poll. Hispanics are concerned about the same issues that all Americans are focused upon: the economy, healthcare, and crime. About eight in 10 Hispanic voters said the economy is "one of the most important issues" for the 2024 presidential election, while about 60 percent of them said the same about healthcare and crime. The poll surveyed 1,771 registered voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.

There was other good news for Trump last week when a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday showed him gaining support and momentum in the key battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Trump surged in Michigan, was leading in Wisconsin, and slightly trailed Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris in Pennsylvania, according to the poll.

Trump continues to outperform Harris and the vice president received no post-debate bounce, despite media frenzy over her performance.