11 Sep California Latino Voter Survey Shows Inflation Is Top Priority but Blames Corporate Greed

The library at Hoover Elementary School in Stockton serves as an official polling place on Election Day on Nov. 8, 2022. (Harika Maddala / Bay City News / Catchlight Local)

By Ruth Dusseault
Bay City News

Housing costs and inflation are the top concerns for California’s 9 million Latino registered voters, according to a report issued Tuesday by the Latino Community Foundation, a national nonprofit dedicated to Latino voter engagement.

Although some blame political candidates for high costs, most blame corporate greed.

A quarter of all Latino eligible voters in the nation reside in California. Of the 902 California Latinos surveyed, 57% said the most important political issues are cost of living and inflation.

Thirty percent of survey participants blamed inflation on the policies of Joe Biden, mostly among 25 to 29-year-olds. Twenty percent blamed the policies of Donald Trump during the COVID-19 pandemic, but a large portion, 32%, placed the blame on corporations for raising prices to make record profits.

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Only 15% ranked the U.S.-Mexico border and immigration reform as top concerns. Opinions on the issues of abortion and artificial intelligence were also measured.

By an over a 3-to-1 margin, Latino voters in this state are more likely to vote for a candidate who holds a pro-choice position and would advocate for making sure abortion access is available nationwide, said Gary Seguro with BSP, the polling firm hired to do the survey.

“That doesn’t mean that three in four of Latinos are in favor of abortion for themselves, or would make such a choice, just that they don’t wish to impose their choices and values on other people,” said Seguro.

Latino voters express broad support for regulation of artificial intelligence, citing a concern about potential job loss, but many also see A.I. as a potentially helpful tool.

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“About 80% of voters state that they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who supports regulating A.I. to ensure that it’s safe, secure and trustworthy,” Seguro said. “Another two-thirds would be interested in training to learn more about A,I.”

>>>Read: ‘Amazing and Scary All at Once’: How Teens Feel About A.I.<<<

Looking at their candidate preferences, 62% of registered Latino voters favored Vice President Kamala Harris. Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz was favored by 45%, while Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance was liked by 25%.

Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff was favored over his opponent Republican Steve Garvey by 15 points.

A majority, 66%, of Latinos said they plan to vote yes on Proposition 13, which would repeal the rental housing act of 1995 and allow local governments to limit the price of rent on any housing. That same percentage favored Proposition 4, which creates a $10 billion bond to be used for environmental protections. Latino voters are also in favor of Proposition 3, which updates the constitution of California to match the federal courts decision on legal same-sex marriage.

Latinos are projected to account for 14.7% of all U.S. eligible voters in November 2024, a new high, according to the Pew Research Center. Latinos have grown at the second-fastest rate of any major racial and ethnic group in the U.S. electorate since the 2020 election, trailing Asians by 3 percentage points in change over that same period.

Three quarters of those surveyed participants say they intend to vote in California, and half report having been contacted by a political party or civic organization to register to vote.

The Latino Community Foundation, which is headed by former U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, has the largest network of Latino philanthropists in the country and has raised $100 million to build the Latino political voice.

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