ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida exit polls show Joe Biden won with Hispanic voters in the state, but not by much.
Researchers say that thin margin played a big role in giving President Trump a win in Florida.
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“There has been much speculation as to what happened here,” UCF Political Science Professor Dr. Luis Martinez-Fernandez said.
A closer look at the data shows President Trump won over Florida’s Cubans while Biden was popular among Puerto Ricans.
In Dade County, where a majority of the state’s Latinos are, Trump’s support amongst Cubans grew, compared to 2016.
Dr. Martinez-Fernandez says he believes the Democratic party failed in Florida because they laid out their Latino plan late.
“We feel as if we are a little planet, and these political satellites come by every four years, and they say something in Spanish...and then we laugh. It doesn’t work. It’s never worked.”
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Summer polls raised a red flag that Biden was severely underperforming among Florida’s Latino voters, so they tried to turn that around in a few weeks.
“I think Democrats are starting to realize that this has to be an ongoing conversation,” said Fernando Rivera of UCF’s Puerto Rico Research Hub.
Researchers believe by the next presidential election, more Puerto Ricans will have moved to Central Florida from the island, which would help the Democratic Party, but Dr. Martinez-Fernandez says they can’t wait on that...they need to act now.
"Let’s understand what the Latinos are about. Let’s understand their diversity, and then let’s treat them with respect.
Hispanics have overwhelmingly supported Democrats in the past.
In 2012, Barack Obama was able to win with support that included Cubans.