CBS News poll analysis on Hispanics, a key group, as primary season kicks off

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Donald Trump made gains with Hispanics nationally in 2024 in some key battlegrounds, and particularly in Texas. He led Kamala Harris with Hispanics in the state, helping boost his overall winning margin in the state. It marked a reversal from recent elections when Latinos backed Joe Biden in 2020 and Hillary Clinton in 2016.

As the primary season gets underway, Tuesday's primaries in Texas, a state where roughly a quarter of 2024 voters were Hispanic, will be closely watched. (Hispanics also make up nearly one in 10 voters in North Carolina, another state holding primaries Tuesday.)

Part of what helped President Trump make those gains was the economy. It was the top issue for Hispanic voters nationally in 2024, and those who picked it overwhelmingly backed Mr. Trump over Harris. And the portion of Hispanics who said inflation had been a "severe hardship" (about a quarter of them) also backed him in big numbers.

Economic expectations unmet so far?

More than a year into Mr. Trump's second term, most Hispanics overall continue to rate the nation's economy badly, don't feel their incomes are keeping up with inflation, and most don't feel his policies have made their finances better.

Mr. Trump's overall approval rating has declined among Hispanics over the course of this past year (as it has among other groups). Like the broader public, most Hispanics feel his administration has not focused enough on lowering prices, and most disapprove of how he is handling the economy and inflation.

(This is based on polling conducted before the start of U.S. military action against Iran.)

Deportation and the border

During Biden's presidency, most Hispanics thought he should have been tougher on those trying to cross the border. Most have acknowledged that border crossings have gone down under Mr. Trump's policies, but their views on the administration's overall deportation program and the way ICE conducts its operations are not as positive.

About half of Hispanics approved of the Trump administration's deportation program at the start of this presidential term, but that has dropped to about a third who approve of it now.

This decline comes as most Hispanics don't think the administration has been prioritizing criminals for deportation, and most think ICE has been too tough in its operations that detain people.

They also think Hispanics are being subject to more searches from ICE, compared to people of other races and backgrounds, and they believe that isn't fair.

It's too early to know how the U.S. conflict with Iran will impact elections this year. Before the U.S. took military action in Iran, Hispanics, like most Americans, felt the administration had not clearly explained its position regarding potential action, so they may be looking for more clarity now that a conflict is underway.

Does discontent with the Trump administration help with the Democrats?

This dissatisfaction among Hispanics with some of the administration's policies has not translated into especially positive views of the Democratic Party.

While Hispanics' overall impression of the Republican Party is more negative than the Democratic Party, their overall views of the Democratic Party are more unfavorable than favorable.

But on both economic and immigration policy, Hispanics do prefer the Democrats' approach to that of President Trump and the Republicans, indicating the Democratic Party's priorities on two key issues may be more in line with their own.