The economy, jobs and health care will most influence the voting decisions of registered Latino voters in Texas, California and Clark County, Nevada, Telemundo polls released Friday show.
But impeachment and removing President Donald Trump also are figuring into their decisions, according to the polls.
Majorities in all three locations supported the impeachment and removal of Trump from office: In California, it was 59 percent, in Clark County, 58 percent and less so in Texas, at 52 percent. Just over 80 percent of Nevada's Latino voters live in Clark County, which includes Las Vegas.
In all three locations, about two-thirds of those polled disapproved of Trump's performance.
In Telemundo’s poll of California Latino voters, 29 percent said the economy and jobs would most likely influence their vote. The same was said by 35 percent of Clark County’s Latino voters. In Texas, 24 percent of Latino voters said health care would most influence their vote. Majorities in each location said their economic situation had remained the same since Trump took office.
Related
But impeachment and Trump’s removal also were top considerations in all places. For Californians, the economy and jobs were followed by immigration, at 14 percent, and impeachment and removing Trump at 13 percent.
In Clark County, 15 percent of voters said impeachment and removing Trump would most influence their voting decision, ranking it right behind the economy and jobs and just above immigration, 14 percent.
Impeachment and removing Trump ranked lower in Texas. The economy, jobs, gun rights and gun control followed at 13 percent each. Twelve percent named impeachment and removing Trump, the same share as environment/climate change.
The U.S. House Intelligence Committee began impeachment hearings Wednesday but the committee released transcripts of depositions of witnesses in the impeachment inquiry during the polling in early November. On Friday, the panel was hearing from the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, who testified to investigators last month that she was told to tweet praise of Trump to save her job.
An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll done in late October showed a near majority of Americans support impeaching Trump and removing him from office.
The average from polls on impeachment so far show that 48.5 percent of Americans support impeachment and removing Trump, while 45.7 percent oppose it, according to Real Clear Politics.
Related
In polling by Latino Decisions, jobs and the economy also have been top issues named by Latinos. The Trump re-election campaign has been touting the current record low unemployment among Latinos.
But along with health care, wages and immigration also are top concerns and can influence how Latinos feel about their economic security, said Sylvia Manzano, a principal at the Democratic polling firm Latino Decisions, at a National Press Club news conference Thursday.
Among some issues that emerged as top concerns in previous Latino Decisions polls were worries that Social Security wouldn't be around upon retirement, fear or inability to afford or keep a home and the inability to pay medicine and other health needs.
“Sixty-one percent of Latino voters tell us sometimes they delay or don’t make doctor visits because it’s too expensive,” Manzano said. “So when we ask why is health care a priority, it’s not because of political fights, it’s because it affects them in a very direct way.”
Clarissa Martínez de Castro, deputy vice president at UnidosUS, a Latino advocacy group, said the economy and jobs have been one of the driving concerns for Latinos for the past decade.
But she said when asked what is it that concerns you about the economy, Latinos name unemployment, lack of jobs, job insecurity and low wages.
“It is important to dig deeper into what’s driving these concerns,” she said, after UnidosUS announced the launch of a Latino voter drive and engagement campaign.
Biden is top choice among those polled
In the Telemundo poll, former Vice President Joe Biden was the top choice for Latino voters polled in each of the locations: 21 percent in California, 23 percent in Clark County and 33 percent in Texas. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., was the second most popular pick in California (19 percent) and in Clark County, Nevada (18 percent). Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., finished second among Texas Latinos with 16 percent.
Julián Castro, a former Housing and Urban Development secretary and the only Latino candidate in the race, was the top choice for 5 percent of Texas Latinos and those in Clark County. Two percent of California Latinos chose him. Castro was unable to get the polling ratings he needed to qualify for next week’s debate and will not be on stage with the other candidates, but his campaign continues.
The California and Clark County polls have margins of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. The Texas poll has a margin of error of 5 percentage points.
Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy Inc. did the polling Nov. 4-7 in California and Clark County, Nevada, and Nov. 5-8 in Texas. For each location, 625 Latino registered voters were polled and interviewed live by landline and cellphone. Those polled all said they were likely to vote in 2020.
Follow NBC Latino on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
