A recent Pew Research Center survey, published in late September, looks  at the political views of Latinos in the United States and the issues that for them  are paramount in the context of midterm elections.

It is noteless that most Latinos respond that Democrats care more about them and are still more committed to their vote over Republicans. However, about half of Hispanics do not see a great deal of difference between what the Democratic and Republican parties stand for, with 36% saying there is a fair amount of difference and 16% saying there is hardly any difference at all between the parties.

The survey was conducted online from Aug. 1-14, 2022, from a representative survey of 3,029 Latino adults, according to the institute.

Some 71% say the Democratic Party works hard for Latinos’ votes, 63% say it “really cares about Latinos” and 60% say the Democratic Party represents the interests of people like themselves. By contrast, shares of Latinos say the same of the Republican Party on each statement, though a somewhat greater share (45%) says that the GOP “works hard to earn the votes of Latinos”, according to the poll.

While most Latinos have a positive view of the Democratic Party, not everyone does. According to the poll, “about a third (34%) says the statement “the Democratic Party really cares about Latinos” does not describe their views well, and a similar share says the same about the statement “the Democratic Party represents the interests of people like you”.

Most Latinos, the poll shows, have a positive rating from Democrats, but about a third of respondents said they don't believe the Democratic party represents their interests or actually cares about Latinos. When asked about their opinion of Republicans, 63% of respondents said they did not believe the GOP really cares about Latinos, according to the poll.

In the context, leading up to the midterms elections since the 2020 presidential election, the idea of a growing number of Latino Republican voters has dominated the headlines, and Republican Mayra Flores' victory in the special election for Texas’ 34th Congressional District in June has brought renewed attention to the issue.

The data show that registered Latino voters are more identified with the Democratic Party by a margin of nearly two to one (64% vs. 33%), with little change in this item in recent years.  The researchers also analyzed the family origins of respondents and found that those who identify as Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Central Americans, and South Americans were more likely to say that Democrats represent their interests well than to say the same for Republicans. Meanwhile, Cubans were divided in their assessment of Democrats and Republicans.

As midterm elections approach, less than half of registered Latino voters (45 percent) say they approve of the way Biden is handling his job as president, while about half (54%) disapprove him. Registered U.S. voters generally have a more negative view of Biden (61% disapprove vs. 37% approve), according to the same August poll.

Regarding President Joe Biden’s performance, the approval rating varies some across demographic subgroups of Hispanic registered voters. “Hispanic Democrats hold largely positive views of Biden. Nearly two-thirds of Hispanic Democrats and Democratic leaners (65%) approve of the president’s job performance, but a substantial minority (34%) disapprove. By contrast, nearly all Hispanic Republicans and Republican leaners (92%) disapprove of Biden. The approval rating varies slightly among the demographic subgroups of registered Hispanic voters”. 

Among Latino registered voters, only 29% of evangelical Christians approve of Biden’s job performance, while a greater share of Latino Catholics (53%) and those with no religious affiliation (44%) say the same, according to Pew Research data.

According to another poll conducted by NBC News/Telemundo with 1,000 registered Latino voters released  October 2, Latino voters are divided over the president's performance. About 51% of Latinos approve of Biden's administration, compared to 45% who disapprove.

In this poll, “while a majority of all Latinos approve of Biden’s overall job as president, he gets lower ratings on the issues — 49% approve of his handling of foreign policy, 42% approve of him on border security and immigration, and 41% approve of his job on the economy”.

Still, about  51% of Latinos have a favorable or positive view of Biden, compared to 30% who have a  favorable view of Trump,  who signals as possible presidential candidacy in 2024.