According to a recent poll by The Wall StreetJournal, published on November 7, the number of black and Latino voters  who are supporting the Republican Party in legislative elections, or midterms, is higher than ever.

According to the poll’s publication, “The Republican Party is winning support from a larger share of Black voters than in other recent elections and has improved its standing in the past few months among Latino voters […], adding to evidence of the party’s increasing appeal among groups that have overwhelmingly favored Democratic candidates”.

About 17% of black voters said they would choose a Republican to represent them in Congress,  according to the poll, an increase from the 8% of black voters who voted for a Republican Party candidate in the 2018 midterm elections and the 8%  who voted for former President Donald Trump in 2020.

The poll also showed Democrats with a small 5-point lead over Republicans among Latino voters, down from an 11-point lead in August.

According to The Hill, former President Trump at a rally in Florida on November 6 said the Republican Party was “setting records” among Latino voters despite its immigration policies that do not benefit the Latino migrant population.

Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized Democrats last month for their apathy towards Latino voters and the lack of legislative reform on immigration in Congress.

Black voters, who still overwhelmingly support Democrats, were crucial to President Biden’s election in 2020 and are particularly powerful in Georgia, where progressive groups have focused much of their turn-out-the-vote efforts.

Stacey Abrams, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, has called concerns that the party is losing support from Black voters in a “manufactured crisis”, according to The Hill.

The Wall Street Journal poll was conducted from Oct. 22-26 among 1,500 people. Among 180 polled Black voters, the margin of error is 7.3 percentage points. Among 400 Latino voters, the margin of error is 4.9 percentage points.