Texas Latino Conservatives—a group that aims to mobilize Latino voters to elect conservative candidates—commissioned a Texas Hispanic Realignment Survey showing the opinions of Hispanic voters in Texas.
In June, the poll was administered in South Texas, the Rio Grande Valley, the outer suburbs of Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, Houston, and exurban areas outside of the major metroplexes. Overall, results from the survey showed that Republicans continue to garner support from the Hispanic community.
The survey conducted 1,200 interviews—400 from each main region—with registered Hispanic voters, asking several questions about their opinions on the Republican and Democrat parties.
Across all regions, Republicans have overtaken Democrats by two points in party identification and hold a two-point advantage for Congress among the working class. In South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley, Democrats only hold a three-point advantage on the generic congressional ballot.
In response to a question specifically about the Democrat Party, 61 percent said they are bothered by the liberal party because they focus too much on race and gender, support government welfare handouts for people who don’t work, and support socialism. Twenty-eight percent said they are bothered by the direction of the Democrat Party but don’t consider themselves Republican.
Along with the Democrat Party, only 11 percent of Hispanics surveyed said they are satisfied with President Biden’s presidency, and only 40 percent say they approve of his job performance. Fifty-seven percent of survey participants said they disapprove of Biden’s job performance, and 53 percent blame him for the recent inflation and high gas prices.
Conservative Hispanic values also strongly align with those of the Republican Party. According to the survey, Hispanics now believe that Republicans are the party of their values and priorities. Republicans hold a 15-point lead over Democrats when associated with “hard work,” an 8-point lead on supporting small businesses, a 7-point lead on fixing the immigration system, and a 3-point lead on “protecting my way of life.”
While most Democrats continue to ignore the border crisis and the Biden administration refuses to visit or send relief to border states, many Hispanic voters are beginning to feel the effects of illegal immigration.
The survey found that 57 percent of Hispanics are in favor of increasing border security to stop illegal immigration; in South Texas specifically, the number rose to 60 percent.
The survey comes at a time when Texas Republicans have doubled down on efforts to win in Hispanic areas of the state, including traditionally Democrat-led South Texas. In June, Mayra Flores won a special congressional election in the Rio Grande Valley, the first time in 150 years a Republican had been elected to represent the area.
In a recent interview with Chris Salcedo on The Salcedo Storm podcast, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said he expects the border crisis to turn South Texas into a Republican stronghold.
“We’re going to see … a red wave across the country, but South Texas is going to be profound,” said Cruz. “I think we’re on the verge of a generational shift.”
