The increased support for then-President Donald Trump in last November's elections among the Hispanic population was at least in part due to concerns over economic restrictions imposed to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, a new study claims.
Equis Labs, a two-year-old organization that examines Hispanic voters and trends, suggested the boost of anywhere from 6% to 20% in favor of Trump came after it analyzed data, polling and thousands of interviews.
''While Latinos are often treated as a target for registration and turnout, it was less-frequent Hispanic voters who showed the most 'swing,''' the report said.
''While the 'why' of this shift requires more investigation, part of the story appears to be the barrier keeping some conservative Latinos from voting for Trump went down during COVID, with a change in focus from his anti-Latino or anti-immigrant positions to other concerns, including the economy,'' the report added.
Exit polls in November showed Trump garnered the highest percentage of the non-white vote since 1960, including 32% of Hispanic voters.
The Equis report examined voting trends state by state and community by community.
In Florida, for example, it showed that 15% who voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 moved to Trump in 2020, according to an Equis/Cuba Study Group survey cited in the report. Elsewhere, Trump's gains came largely from Hispanic voters who did not participate at all in 2016.
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