Poll: Latinos' slow drift from Dems

A plurality of Latinos now says "neither" when asked which major political party cares more about them, according to the latest Axios-Ipsos Latino Poll in partnership with Noticias Telemundo. Why it matters: More Latinos continue to favor the Democratic Party, but their allegiance is drifting. Some Latinos signal growing differences on cultural issues and crime — and give Republicans an edge in handling the economy. The big picture: That hasn't translated to a major realignment among Latinos to the GOP, Ipsos pollster and senior vice president Chris Jackson tells Axios. 47% overall (44% of the registered voters in the survey) said they had a favorable opinion of President Biden, about the same as last October. 29% of respondents (32% of the registered voters) had a favorable opinion of former President Trump. Just 20% (24% of the registered voters) nationally gave favorable reviews to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), despite his popularity in his home state with the heavily Cuban-American Hispanic population. Zoom in: Latinos are an increasingly important voting bloc, representing 18.7% of the U.S. population and growing. The poll found that by nearly 3 to 1, Latinos say Democrats care more about them than Republicans, a declining but still dominant share. But 32% of all respondents said neither Democrats nor Republicans care about Latinos. That's up from 28% last October and 25% a year ago. 40% of respondents said it's a bad time to be a Latino or Hispanic person in America, up from 31% last October and 29% a year ago. State of play: "Latinos are still more Democratic than Republican by significant margins," Jackson said. "But when you're talking about elections that are won by a percentage point, small losses can make a difference. "The Democratic coalition is complicated in the best of times. The more pieces are in play, the harder it's going to be for any Democratic candidate to thread the needle." About half the respondents in the survey said they're registered voters. The registered voters skewed slightly more conservative than the survey's overall sample. By the numbers: 50% of respondents now say parents should have the ability to stop schools from teaching subjects they do not like, up from 44% in March 2022, the last time the question was asked. Support also has declined since last year for people being able to choose their own gender identity (from 54% to 47%), with an even bigger decline when it comes to teenagers' choices (from 48% to 35%). 14% now say Democrats do a better job on crime and public safety than Republicans, down from 20% last October; 22% of respondents were more likely to say Republicans do a good job, the same as in the prior survey. The intrigue: A plurality said neither party is good on immigration (34%), crime (30%) or managing the federal budget (38%). One in three said Democrats are better on abortion issues, compared with 17% for Republicans. Democrats were seen as better on climate and energy, while Republicans had an edge on the economy. What they're saying: "Both parties are really struggling to understand the fastest-growing segment of the electorate," Republican consultant Mike Madrid, based in Sacramento, Calif., tells Axios. Methodology: This Axios-Ipsos Latino Poll, in partnership with Noticias Telemundo, was conducted June 2-9 by Ipsos' KnowledgePanel®. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 1,116 Hispanic/Latino adults age 18 or older. The margin of sampling error is ±3.5 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample. For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.