Harris leads Trump by wide margin among Hispanic voters in North Carolina: Survey

Vice President Harris is leading former President Trump by a wide margin among Hispanic voters in North Carolina, according to a new survey.

The TelevisaUnivision Consumer Strategy & Insights/Media Predict poll, obtained by The Hill, shows Harris with 56 percent support from likely Hispanic voters in the Tar Heel State, compared to Trump’s 34 percent support. Around 8 percent said they would likely back someone else, and 2 percent said they were unsure.

Even with the vice president’s 22 percent lead over Trump, around 44 percent of Hispanic voters in the state are not completely certain who will they back for president, per the survey. 

Roughly 48 percent of Hispanic voters are registered as independents, according to Kathy Whitlock, TelevisaUnvision’s vice president of strategy.

“So both sides need to reach out to engage and convince them,” Whitlock said in a statement to The Hill. “Since this research has found that 53% of Hispanic voters are likely to vote for a candidate from a political party that they typically have not voted for in the past, the Hispanic voter really is up for grabs.”

Whitlock added that because of this, campaigns need to reach Hispanic voters as soon as possible.

“Hispanics are more likely to vote early and in person than on election day,” she said in the statement. “Fully 59% of North Carolina Hispanics don’t have all the party information they need to make a voting decision.”

Still, those supporting the former president were more enthusiastic (72 percent) about their pick in November than those supporting Harris (66 percent), per the poll.

At least 58 percent of Hispanic voters were at least “somewhat willing” to support the Democratic nominee. Around 45 percent of Latino voters in North Carolina said the same about Trump, the survey found.

About 38 percent of Hispanic voters in the state were also “somewhat willing” to support independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who suspended his campaign Friday and threw his support behind Trump. Kennedy said he would still be on the ballot in most red and blue states, but would remove himself from those in swing states where he could be a difference-maker. 

The poll also found that only 32 percent of Hispanics in the state believe the U.S. heading in the “right” direction. 

The North Carolina survey comes as a similar one was conducted in Arizona, another battleground state, showing Harris up by 25 percent compared to Trump — although 35 percent of respondents said they were not certain about their vote in the upcoming election. 

The Hill/Decision Desk HQ’s polling index shows Harris leading the GOP nominee in the battleground state by 1.1 percent — 48 percent to 46.9 percent.

The TelevisaUnivision poll was conducted Aug. 1-12 among 457 Hispanic voters in North Carolina and has a margin of error was of 4.7 percentage points.