Hispanic, Latin Georgians split down the middle on party lines, new poll shows

ATLANTA — A new poll from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the University of Georgia shows that Georgia’s Hispanic and Latin communities are evenly split on Republican and Democratic candidates.

The Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials, GALEO, told Channel 2′s Richard Elliot they believe the communities will be vital to both parties.

“I think the Latino electorate is vitally important. At 385,000 strong, it’s been out-performing the national Latino participation rate,” Jerry Gonzalez of GALEO said.

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The new poll shows Hispanic and Latin voters are split among the major candidates.

In the race for Georgia’s governor, Stacey Abrams is at 49% while Governor Brian Kemp is at 48%, among self-identifying Hispanic and Latin voters.

In the race for U.S. Senate, Herschel Walker is polling at 47.4% while Senator Raphael Warnock is polling at 41.4%. The Libertarian candidate, Chase Oliver, is polling at 11%.

The poll also shows that the economy and inflation are their highest concern. It also shows them being split on abortion.

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Veteran political consultant Fred Hicks has worked on campaigns for both political parties. He says that the margins of error are so slim that no candidate can risk ignoring any minority community.

“You know, forever, Georgia was pretty much a Black and white state, and then in 2016, we started seeing the Asian community and Hispanic community emerge as a voting block that both parties recognize and both parties are pursuing,” Hicks explained.

In 2020, President Joe Biden won Georgia by a margin of less than 12,000 votes, so with the electorate as divided as it is, every vote counts.

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