Latino Texans helped fuel a surge in Democratic primary turnout, as GOP aims to hold onto gains
CBSN
Latino voters helped propel record turnout in last week's Texas primaries — with most voting in the Democratic contest — a trend Democrats are watching closely as they try to reclaim ground with the group and pull off an upset win in the red-leaning state's Senate contest. Olivia Rinaldi contributed to this report.
Latino voters helped propel record turnout in last week's Texas primaries — with most voting in the Democratic contest — a trend Democrats are watching closely as they try to reclaim ground with the group and pull off an upset win in the red-leaning state's Senate contest.
Over 4.4 million ballots were cast in last week's races, exceeding the 2024 and 2020 presidential primaries. Contributing to the huge turnout were Latino voters, especially in Latino-majority areas like South Texas that trended toward President Trump in 2024.
Relative to their average across 2020, 2022, and 2024, majority-Latino counties saw growth of approximately 37% in their primary votes this year. Other counties in Texas saw closer to a 33% increase in aggregate. Heavily Latino counties like Starr and Hidalgo, which sit along the U.S.-Mexico border, saw some of the biggest jumps — 67% and 51%, respectively.
One reason is that new primary voters were disproportionately Latino. Among Latino early voters, for example, a full third hadn't turned out in a recent primary. And Latino turnout skewed heavily Democratic this year. Both precinct data and individual-level data from the voter file suggest that about three in four Latino voters chose to vote in the Democratic primary over the Republican one — new primary voters even more so.
Democrats have increasingly struggled with Latino voters. Mr. Trump won 48% of nationwide Latino voters in 2024, a 12-point jump from four years earlier, according to a Pew Research Center survey of confirmed voters. In Texas, where Democrats view Latino voters as crucial, some heavily Latino counties along the Rio Grande went from being Democratic strongholds to light-red areas.
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