After California Recall, Democrats Fret Over Latino Vote

Democrats are wondering whether they have a problem with Latino voters. What they actually might have is a problem with working-class voters.

The concern began growing after former President Donald Trump made inroads with Latinos in the 2020 presidential election. Data compiled by Catalist, a Democratic election-data firm, showed that, while Democrat Joe Biden still carried the Latino vote comfortably, Mr. Trump did eight points better among Latinos in 2020 than he did four years earlier.

Further research by the Pew Research Center suggested Mr. Trump did better among Latino men, and did “substantially better” among those without a college education.

Fast forward to last week, which brought the first big postpresidential test of the Latino vote in the form of the gubernatorial recall vote in California, the state with the largest Latino population. The results there again suggested a softening of Latino support. Exit polls showed 60% of Latino voters voted against recalling Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. That was slightly below the overall, statewide vote of 63.5% against recalling the governor, and below the 64% of Latino voters who backed Mr. Newsom when he was elected in 2018.