**Democratic Support Among Latino Voters Reaches Lowest Point in Over a Decade**

Support for the Democratic Party amongst Latino voters has reached its lowest point in four presidential election cycles, according to a recent poll. Vice President Kamala Harris holds a 14-point lead over former President Donald Trump within this crucial voting demographic, garnering 54% versus Trump’s 40%, with 6% of Latino voters remaining undecided, as indicated by a new NBC News/Telemundo/CNBC national survey of registered Latino voters.

This represents a significant decline from previous elections where Democrats had a substantial advantage among Latino voters. In the 2020 presidential election, Democrats held a 33-point lead, a 38-point lead in 2016, and a 44-point lead in 2012, based on NBC exit polling data.

Further emphasizing a weakening Democratic position, 54% of Latino respondents preferred Democrats to control Congress over Republicans, who received 42% support. This too marks a downturn when compared to previous election cycles.

On specific issues, Latino voters favored Harris on humane treatment of immigrants by 39 points, handling of abortion issues by 34 points, having the appropriate temperament by 28 points, representing change by 21 points, and setting the country on the right path by 12 points. Conversely, Trump showed an advantage on critical topics such as the economy by four points, managing inflation by nine points, and addressing border issues by 13 points.

In terms of overall sentiment about immigration, 62% of Latino voters believe immigration is more beneficial than harmful, while 35% thought otherwise — the highest percentage expressing such concerns in two decades. Comparatively, among all voters, 50% supported the positive impact of immigration against 43% who disagreed, showing a shift from the 2016 figures of 54% versus 35%.

A notable factor driving Trump's gains appears to be the changing attitudes of Latino men, who are now evenly split between Republicans and Democrats at 47% each, a stark shift from the 2020 preference of 54% in favor of Democrats. Latina women, though still more likely to support Democrats (60%) over Republicans (34%), also showed a move towards Trump compared to their 2020 preference of 71% Democrat to 20% Republican.

Polls have indicated growing concerns for Democratic prospects among minority voters prior to Harris assuming the top of the ticket in July. In addressing these challenges, Harris emphasized the need to actively earn votes. “I think it's very important to not operate from the assumption that black men are in anybody's pocket,” Harris stated at a National Association of Black Journalists event, echoing similar sentiments regarding Latino voters.

Both candidates are also scheduled to participate in town halls with Univision later this month as they seek to engage the Hispanic and Latino electorate. Trump will speak from Miami on October 8, while Harris will be featured in Las Vegas on October 10.

The NBC News/Telemundo/CNBC poll, which sampled 1,000 registered Latino voters between September 16-23, has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points. Nationally, Harris leads Trump by 2 percentage points in the latest RealClearPolitics aggregate of multi-candidate polls and remains ahead in the no-tossup RealClearPolitics Electoral College map.