Hispanic voters prefer DeSantis, including some Dems: poll

A new poll shows that Hispanic voters in Florida prefer Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis over Democrat challenger Charlie Crist – and this includes registered Democrats.

The poll, from Telemundo/LX News, surveyed registered Hispanic voters who said they are likely to vote in November’s election. When asked who they would vote for if the election were held at the time, 51% said DeSantis, compared to 44% for Crist, 1% other, and 4% undecided. The survey was taken from Oct. 17-20.

Of the participants who are registered as Democrats, 6% said they would vote for DeSantis. In contrast, just 1% of registered Republicans said they would vote for Crist. Of the independents, 56% favored DeSantis, with 34% for Crist.

Fox News reached out to the DeSantis campaign for comment, but they did not immediately respond.

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The poll also broke down Hispanic origin, with Cuban-Americans overwhelmingly supporting DeSantis at a rate of 72%, compared to 22% for Crist.  Of Puerto Rican voters, 59% supported Crist with 37% for DeSantis. Of Hispanics that are neither Cuban nor Puerto Rican, Crist led DeSantis 53% to 43%.

The poll also asked Hispanic voters how they feel about how DeSantis has handled a variety of issues. Majorities of Republicans, Democrats, and independents all supported how the governor is handling the recovery from Hurricane Ian, with 54% of Democrats approving, compared to 94% of Republicans and 72% of independents.

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A sizable chunk of Democrats also supported how the governor handled the COVID-19 pandemic, with 34% giving their approval, along with 98% of Republicans and 61% of independents. 

The only area where Democratic support for DeSantis’s performance was in the single digits was his relocation of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard. While 90% of Republicans and 56% of independents supported this, 9% of Democrats approved.

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Overall, 19% of Democrats approved of DeSantis’s job performance overall, with 89% of Republicans and 62% of independents also approving

Early voting in the race began Monday morning. DeSantis and Crist are scheduled to debate each other on Tuesday.