Thursday, May 28, 2026

Buyer's remorse hits Trump's Latino voters

latino-voters-trump-republicans-midterms

Buyer's remorse hits Trump's Latino voters

Russell Contreras

Data: UnidosUS/BSP Research/Shaw & Company; Chart: Sara Wise/Axios

A new UnidosUS poll finds that 1 in 4 Hispanic Trump voters say they would not vote for him again if given the choice.

Why it matters: The erosion of Latino support for President Trump, combined with dissatisfaction with the economy, signals danger for competitive GOP-held seats in the 2026 midterm elections.

Trump's gains with Latinos were one of the biggest political stories of 2024.
Now, a new UnidosUS/BSP Research/Shaw & Co. poll suggests those voters remain highly movable — a problem for Republicans in Latino-heavy battleground districts where both parties are watching for signs of a post-2024 snapback.

By the numbers: Two-thirds of Latino voters disapprove of Trump's job performance, compared with 30% who approve. Disapproval is a majority in every region tested, including 51% in Florida.

25% of Latino Trump 2024 voters say they probably or certainly would not vote for him again. That compares with 5% of Harris 2024 voters who say they would not vote for her again.
On the 2026 House ballot, Latino voters back the Democratic candidate over the Republican candidate 54% to 27%, with 19% undecided.

State of play: Latino voters are emerging as "the swingiest of the swing voters" ahead of the midterms, with economic anxiety and immigration concerns making them highly fluid in competitive districts.

The GOP had hoped Trump's 2024 Latino gains represented a lasting realignment.
Democrats see inflation, tariffs and aggressive immigration enforcement reopening Latino-heavy seats they feared were lost.

Zoom in: The political damage to Republicans is highly apparent in critical battlefield states containing high-density Latino populations, the UnidosUS poll found.

In Texas, where significant rightward shifts occurred in 2024, Trump's disapproval has skyrocketed to 67% among Latinos, and Democrats have opened a massive 54% to 28% generic House ballot lead.
In California, Latino disapproval of Trump stands at 71%, paving the way for a 59% to 22% Democratic advantage on the generic congressional ballot.
In Arizona, Trump faces a 67% disapproval rating, with Democrats leading the generic House ballot 53% to 25%.

Zoom out: Voter dissatisfaction extends into deep anxieties regarding governance, military stability and civil rights.

84% of Hispanic voters are deeply concerned that Congress is failing its constitutional duties by ceding too much authority to the executive branch and failing to act as a proper check and balance.
58% believe that their civil rights and civil liberties have become noticeably less secure under the Trump administration.

79% assert the president should be legally required to obtain congressional approval before executing military action.
64% explicitly oppose the war in Iran.

The intrigue: Latino voters say cost of living, not immigration, is the top issue shaping their views of Trump.

Immigration enforcement ranks second, ahead of jobs and the economy, the Iran war, tariffs and cuts to Medicaid, ACA/Obamacare and food assistance programs.

The other side: Florida remains the glaring exception.

Latino voters there back the Republican House candidate over the Democrat 42% to 38%, and Florida GOP candidates also lead in Senate and governor matchups tested in the poll.

The bottom line: Trump's Latino gains are no longer looking like a locked-in GOP advantage.

The poll gives Democrats a clear opening in Latino-heavy battlegrounds — but not a guarantee.

Methodology: This UnidosUS Bipartisan Poll of Hispanic Voters: Road to the 2026 Midterms was conducted April 27–May 14 by BSP Research and Shaw & Company Research on behalf of UnidosUS. The poll is based on a sample of 3,000 Latino registered voters across the U.S.

The margin of sampling error is ±1.8 percentage points for results based on the entire sample.
The survey was offered in English or Spanish, based on respondent preference, and conducted via live telephone interviews, text message invitations and online panels. All participants were confirmed registered voters.

Judge refuses to block Trump order to limit mail voting. There’s no immediate effect on the midterms

https://apnews.com/article/trump-elections-mail-voting-executive-order-9474fae41161dc5954295ae1370bcb88

Politics

Judge refuses to block Trump order to limit mail voting. There’s no immediate effect on the midterms

President Donald Trump listens during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Wednesday, May 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI

Updated 10:11 AM EDT, May 28, 2026

Leer en español

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A federal judge has declined to halt President Donald Trump’s executive order creating a federal voter list and limiting mail voting, clearing the way for potential sweeping changes in how American elections are run shortly before this year’s midterm elections.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee in Washington, late Wednesday rejected the request by Democrats and civil rights groups that had argued Trump’s order would likely be found unconstitutional because the states and Congress, not the president, have the power to set election rules. Nichols agreed with the Republican Trump administration’s contention that it was too early to block the order because it has yet to be implemented.

Nichols’ ruling leaves the door open for further challenges when the Trump administration moves to implement the president’s directive. A separate lawsuit seeking to block the executive order is underway in Boston. No matter how rapidly the administration acts, no voting changes are expected during primary elections, which continue into next month.

“The Court recognizes that the Postal Service may ultimately issue a final rule that directly affects Plaintiffs or their members, or that the Government may develop State Citizenship Lists that omit specific individuals due to particularized flaws,” Nichols wrote. “Plaintiffs may, of course, renew their motions if and when those future actions occur. Until then, however, Plaintiffs cannot show that preliminary injunctive relief is warranted.”

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The Trump administration has yet to formally issue lists of eligible voters, and those who filed the initial request for a temporary halt said they’d be back if the administration moves in that direction.

“We are ready to resume the fight if and when the administration takes those next steps,” said Juan Proaño, chief executive officer of the League of United Latin American Citizens, one of the organizations that sought the stay from Nichols.

A tray of mail-in ballots is seen at King County Elections headquarters on Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024, in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)

Trump issued the order in March after a bill he supported to overhaul voting stalled in Congress. The order would have had the federal government create a list of eligible voters and then directed the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail ballots only to those on the list. Election officials argued it was ripe for abuse and could cause chaos, and the postal union has objected to the idea of mail carriers policing ballots.

Since his 2020 presidential election loss to Democrat Joe Biden, Trump has groundlessly claimed mail voting is rife with fraud and has launched a federal investigation into that year’s vote, even though repeated audits and investigations, including ones run by Republicans, found it was free of widespread fraud. Trump also has said he wants to “take over” election administration in Democratic areas.

Democrats and civil rights groups argued it was urgent that Nichols issue a restraining order in the midst of primary season and with states already gearing up for the fall midterm elections.

This was Trump’s second executive order seeking to overhaul elections and voting. His initial election executive order, issued just months after he took office in his second term, has been blocked by multiplefederal judges. That order sought to require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote, among other changes.