CNN’s Harry Enten warned Republicans they might be making a bet on Texas Latinos that might not pay off.
Republicans are betting on the durability with their gains with Hispanic voters, the largest demographic group in Texas, in 2024, when President Donald Trump pulled in 55 percent support from them, and GOP legislators made the unprecedented move to redraw the congressional map at mid-decade in an attempt to lock in their U.S. House majority – but Enten said that gamble may prove risky.
“This redistricting very much plays in the idea that Republicans can hold can hold, can hold those gains that Donald Trump made, because a lot of the districts that were redrawn are predominantly Hispanics,” Enten said. “While Donald Trump’s support with Latinos has absolutely fallen through the floor in Texas, they may have bit off more than they can chew. Look at Donald Trump’s net favorable with Texas Latinos. Back last year, just before he, of course, won the state of Texas, he was at even ground – zero points net favorable rating with Texas Latinos. Look at where we are now, that is a drop of 32 points, my goodness gracious, and of course, this matches with what we’re seeing Latinos nationwide, right? We spoke about that last week where we saw the absolute decline. What is happening in Texas is happening nationwide, what’s happening nationwide is happening in Texas.”
“So if the bet is on Texas Latinos to stay in the Republican camp like they did in 2024, that is a bet that, in fact, they may not be able to cash in on, Republicans, at this point, based upon the polling,” Enten added.
Polling after the election suggested that Latino voters preferred Trump’s economic messaging over plans offered by Kamala Harris, but Enten said that support has already evaporated.
“It’s the economy, stupid,” Enten said. “That is always the idea in politics. You follow the money, you know where folks are going to stand, and take a look at this particular one. This, I think, says it all: This is Latinos on Trump and the economy – last year, look at this, when you match up Harris against Donald Trump, Trump was more trusted on the economy by nine points. Look at his net approval rating now – oh, you never see drops like this. He’s 40 points underwater, that’s a 50-point switcheroo, basically, from where we were last year.”
“The bottom line is that we that we have seen nationwide that folks have turned on Donald Trump on the economy. Texas Latinos are no exception to that trend. They have absolutely turned on Donald Trump on the economy, and that is a big reason why they have turned on Donald Trump overall.”