<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1656602734413,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"00000175-4195-d820-abff-7fdf1f080000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1656602734413,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"00000175-4195-d820-abff-7fdf1f080000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_56602718", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1019379"} }); ","_id":"00000181-b537-d447-ad8b-f5f792dc0000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video EmbedGun violence and crime are the top concerns among Latino voters ahead of November’s midterm elections and could erase gains Republican candidates have made campaigning on a sagging economy and soaring inflation costs, according to a new poll released by Axios and Ipsos on Thursday.
Worries over gun violence and crime surged ahead of inflation for the first time and rose sharply following last month’s massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, where an 18-year-old fatally shot 21 people and wounded 17 others.
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The mid-June survey was conducted two weeks after Uvalde and underscored how deeply that tragedy, as well as another mass shooting the week prior in Buffalo, New York, shook the public and forced lawmakers to take on the politically potent concern.
Democrats’ generic advantage over Republicans among Latino adults has dropped since March, with meteoric rises in inflation fueling the dissatisfaction, according to the survey.
“Going into this poll, inflation and the economy was the dominant issue,” Ipsos Senior Vice President Chris Jackson said. “As long as that’s true, Democrats are going to continue to hemorrhage support among the Latino base.”
He added that Latinos are more aligned with Democrats on gun control policies and questioned whether it would translate into electoral support down the line.
Forty-four percent of Latinos said they are worried about crime or gun safety, up significantly from 27% in a similar March survey. An overwhelming majority of those polled support requiring background checks to purchase a gun and “red flag laws” that allow law enforcement to take guns away from people who are deemed dangerous by the courts.
Some cities that have large Latino populations, such as Los Angeles, San Antonio, and Albuquerque, have seen surges in violent crimes and homicides recently.
On Saturday, President Joe Biden signed into law a bipartisan gun bill intended to prevent dangerous people from having access to firearms. The bill also included a hefty increase in investments in the nation’s mental health system. The move ended nearly three decades of Washington, D.C., gridlock on how to tackle the rise in gun violence across the United States.
Inflation and supply chain breakdowns are also major concerns among Latinos.
Even though gun control took the top spot, concerns over inflation crept up to 39%, while worries over COVID-19 fell to 14%, and only 10% of people polled cited abortion as a concern. The survey was taken before the Supreme Court reversed its decision on Roe v. Wade last week.
About 29% of respondents said they planned to vote for Democratic candidates, 17% said they’d vote for Republicans, and 34% said they didn’t know or would support third parties.
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“We are seeing Democrats continue to hold an advantage with Latinos over Republicans — but probably not as strong as Democrats would like,” Jackson said.
The poll was conducted between June 9-18 and surveyed 1,018 Latino adults, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.
