Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz claimed on Tuesday that "MAGA is going to win the Hispanic vote!," in what seemed to be a reference both to the November presidential elections and the primary he is facing to keep Florida's 1st congressional district on August 20.
The message features a short, 10-second video in which a man asks Gaetz in a store to take a picture with him. "If I can have a picture with you, how about that. Let's do it," the lawmaker says. The video then transitions to an image that asks to "Keep Gaetz Fighting" and features the date of his primary, August 20.
MAGA is going to win the Hispanic vote! pic.twitter.com/8vNYhMX2jp
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) July 23, 2024
According to a poll from last week, Gaetz is on track to win the primary by a wide margin. He is currently supported by 67% of all voters surveyed by Fabrizio, Lee & Associates, compared to 20% who favor his main rival, Aaron Dimmock. The poll was commissioned by the Gaetz campaign.
When it comes to Republicans' standing with Latinos at the national level, the latest figures confirm that the party has been making inroads with the demographic, even if the scenario remains fluid after Joe Biden's decision to drop out of the race and the likelihood that Kamala Harris will replace him at the top of the ticket.
A survey by the Pew Research Center solely focused on Latinos and published on July 19, just two days before Biden announced his decision, does provide a snapshot of what the scenario looked like for the demographic.
The poll was conducted between July 1 and 7, after Biden's dismal debate performance on June 27 but before Donald Trump's attempted assassination on July 13.
Figures showed even levels of support for Trump and Biden, with both candidates being favored by 36% of respondents. What is notable is the level of support for independent candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. (RFK), which clocked in at 24%. The figure is much higher with the demographic than among U.S. voters overall (15%), the pollster explained.
Moreover, a recently published poll by Way to Win, a progressive group that connects donors with campaigns, 52% of Latinos said they would support Harris if Biden dropped out. That compared with seven in ten Democrats who gave that answer. It is worth clarifying that, at the moment, such scenario was hypothetical. Figures may very well fluctuate now that it has become a reality.
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