Democrats Gain Latino Support in 2026 Midterms, With 69% Backing House Candidates

The Democratic Party won 69% of the Latino vote for U.S. House candidates in this year’s midterm elections, according to projections from The New York Times. That was a 28-percentage-point increase from the previous election, reversing some of the gains Republicans made among Latino voters in the 2024 presidential race.

The results mark a recovery for Democrats among a group that has historically favored the party but gave Republicans greater support in the last presidential election. In 2024, Donald Trump won the highest share of Latino votes for a Republican presidential candidate in decades. Concerns about the economy and the cost of living were among the factors behind his performance.

The shift was also evident in Senate contests. In Texas, 70% of Latino voters backed Democratic candidates, a 42-percentage-point increase from 2024. In Kansas, support for Democrats reached 75%, up 40 points. In Florida, Democrats won 53% of the Latino vote, a 20-point gain, although Republican Ashley Moody won the Senate race.

The shift comes as Trump’s approval among Latino voters has fallen. A Pew Research Center survey released in October found that his approval rating among Latinos who voted for him in 2024 dropped from 93% at the start of his second term to 57%.

The economy remains a major concern for Latino voters. Pew found that 86% of registered Latino voters consider the economy very important in deciding how to vote in legislative elections. Immigration was also a priority, cited by 64%.

Trump’s immigration policies, including increased enforcement operations, arrests and deportations, have also drawn opposition. In the Pew survey, 62% of Latino voters said the government was doing too much to deport immigrants living in the United States illegally. Latinos make up 16% of eligible voters nationwide, or about 39 million people, according to Pew Research Center.