Some Texas Latinos who supported President Donald Trump in 2024 voted for Democrats in the Nov. 3 election, CBS News reported, adding a voter-level account to the party's statewide victories.
Texas election results show Democrats won the governor's office, a U.S. Senate seat and other statewide positions. Reuters reported that the Democrats' statewide wins broke a run of more than 30 years without a victory in such a race.
CBS News described some Latino voters who had favored Trump choosing Democratic candidates. It gave no statewide count for that group. The election returns establish who won, but they do not identify voters by their choices in the 2024 presidential race.
Reuters reported record turnout in Latino communities and divisions among Republican supporters as factors in the Democratic gains. It linked some dissatisfaction among conservatives and independents to inflation and the war with Iran. The posted statewide results do not break down turnout by ethnicity.
According to Reuters, Democrats campaigned on household expenses and government corruption, while Republicans emphasized transgender rights and other cultural issues. A separate poll before the election documented economic pressure among Latino voters, though it cannot establish what drove any individual's vote.
YouGov surveyed registered Texas voters for N+ Univision from Oct. 13-21. The poll covered 1,000 registered voters and included a Latino oversample, yielding a sample of 980 registered Latino voters. Asked to select up to three expenses putting the greatest pressure on their household budgets, 63% of the Latino sample chose groceries and food.
Among Latino respondents, 42% said their household finances were worse than a year earlier. EconoTimes covered those economic concerns before the election. The poll does not show whether food costs influenced the former Trump voters described by CBS News.
