Vice president Kamala Harris made her awaited trip to Arizona on Friday, her first trip to the U.S.-Mexico border since becoming the Democratic presidential candidate. The stop was timely, as immigration and the economy seem to be hot issues that the Democrat has struggled to convince voters she can handle better than Donald Trump.
On Friday, however, the Harris team received some positive news on that end as a poll by TelevisaUnivision showed a decline in Donald Trump's support among Latino voters in both Arizona and Georgia, while support for Vice President Kamala Harris has risen in both key swing states, according to Newsweek.
The survey indicates that Latino voters, who make up 25% of Arizona's electorate, are increasingly favoring Harris, with a 34-point lead over Trump. 52% of them say they would "definitely" vote for Harris, an increase from 43% in August. Trump's "definite" support, meanwhile, has dropped to 18% from 25% over the same period.
Meanwhile 29% are still undecided and up for grabs, with 15% leaning toward Harris and 11% inclined to support Trump. Additionally, 35% of respondents were unsure if their preferred candidate was the right choice.
In Georgia, where the Hispanic electorate is smaller, Harris leads Trump by 7 points, with 44% of Hispanic voters firmly committed to Harris, up from 38% in July, while 22% saying they would "definitely" vote for Trump, a 1-point increase since July. Georgia also has a significant number of undecided Latino voters, with 16% leaning toward Harris and 12% toward Trump, while 38% remain uncertain about their chosen candidate.
Kathy Whitlock, vice president of Strategy and Insights at TelevisaUnivision, summed up the results for Newsweek while also providing her thought on what candidate should do in terms of outreach:
"We're seeing large percentages of Hispanic voters who are still uncertain about their vote-even this close to election day- who claim that they still need information about candidates, parties, and their positions on issues in order to make an informed decision. Campaigns need to do more to engage these voters with messaging that addresses the issues that matter to them, and, most importantly, they should do that in Spanish."
A recent study by UCLA, for example, revealed that investing in Spanish-speaking ads could be one of the keys in targeting Latino voters, as the Florida Senate race between Rick Scott and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell has evidenced so far.
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