Texas Latino voters shift from Trump, Pew finds 24% approval

Trump's job approval among Latino registered voters has fallen to 24%, down 14 percentage points from 38% in February 2025, according to a Pew Research Center survey of 774 Hispanic registered voters conducted Sept. 28 to Oct. 4, 2026, about four weeks before midterm elections on Nov. 3.

In the same survey, Pew found Democrats leading Republicans 51% to 24% among Hispanic registered voters in House races, and 55% of Latino registered voters describing their congressional vote as a vote against Trump. The Los Angeles Times reported on Oct. 23 that the decline is especially pronounced in Texas and in the Rio Grande Valley, a border region where many families have relatives in Tamaulipas, and where Republicans redrew congressional maps after 2024, when Trump won 48% of Latino voters nationally. The Times noted that among Latinos who voted for Trump in 2024, 65% said they plan to back Republicans on Nov. 3, while more than a third said they were ready to vote for a Democrat or were undecided.

David Lopez, 54, who runs a truck and trailer repair shop in McAllen, told the Times that tariffs have cut his business by about 20% from last year and that he now backs Democrats. "I am voting Democrats all the way. Trump is no longer doing a good job," he said. The Valley's marquee race pits Tejano singer Bobby Pulido, a Democrat, against Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz in the 15th Congressional District. The Senate contest between Democrat James Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton has drawn more than $500 million in advertising, and Trump and Vice President JD Vance campaigned in the state this month. Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston, told the Times that voters are weighing candidates over parties: "They want to know that they can trust the person they're voting for."

Early voting in Texas opened Oct. 19 and runs through Oct. 30. The results in the 15th, 28th and 34th districts, and in the Senate race, will show how far the shift documented in the Pew survey carries into ballots cast by families with relatives and businesses on both sides of the border.

Sources: How Latino Voters Are Experiencing the 2026 Midterm Elections · Many Latinos are over Trump. The shift is especially striking in Texas

This story was written with the help of artificial intelligence from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.