Ron DeSantis Leads Democrat Charlie Crist Among Hispanic Voters

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is maintaining a lead among Hispanic voters as Election Day approaches, a recent Telemundo/LX News: FL Hispanic Voter Poll found.

The poll was taken roughly three weeks from Election Day, October 17-20, and found the Republican governor leading his Democrat challenger Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL) by seven percentage points among Hispanic voters, specifically.

A majority of Hispanic voters, 51 percent, support DeSantis, compared to 44 percent who choose Crist. Further, 72 percent of those with Cuban backgrounds support the governor.

That comes to no surprise, given DeSantis’s strong support of the Cuban people, particularly as they protested the “tyrannical regime” last summer.

Perhaps what is more, 56 percent of Hispanics who were born in another country support the governor over Crist as well. Independent Hispanic voters are also breaking for DeSantis by double digits — 56 percent to Crist’s 34 percent. 

Moreover, 56 percent of Hispanic voters approve of DeSantis’s job performance, 64 percent approve of his handling of the Chinese coronavirus pandemic, and half approve of his decision to relocate migrants to Martha’s Vineyard.

The survey, taken October 17-20, 2022, among 625 registered Hispanic voters, has a +/- 4 percent margin of error. 

It coincides with a Spectrum News/Siena College survey released weeks ago, showing DeSantis with a 16-point lead among Hispanic voters:

🚨 FLORIDA POLL By Siena College

GOVERNOR
(R) Ron DeSantis 49% (+8)
(D) Charlie Crist 41%

Independents
(R) Ron DeSantis 52% (+18)
(D) Charlie Crist 34%

Hispanics
(R) Ron DeSantis 53% (+16)
(D) Charlie Crist 37%

669 LV | 09/18-25 | R35/D34/I31https://t.co/hOkI10wCRy pic.twitter.com/qmYZnqUYx0

— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) October 3, 2022

All of these are significant, as DeSantis trailed Democrat Andrew Gillum among Hispanic voters in the last gubernatorial election.

The results also come as Florida sees a surge of Republican voters in the state. According to the governor, Republicans will have 300,000 more registered voters in the state than Democrats at the time of the election. 

“And even though we’ve never had an election in Florida history [where] we’ve had more Republicans than Democrats, this November, we will now have over 300,000 more Republicans than Democrats,” he said, noting “massive gains in Miami-Dade” and “major gains in Palm Beach.”

Indeed, gains are being made in areas such as blue Miami-Dade, where Republicans maintain an edge among Hispanic voters, having over 76,000 more registered voters than Democrats in that specific demographic. 

DeSantis and Crist will face off in their first and only debate Monday, October 24.