Puerto Rican and Latino voters are gearing up to have their voices heard in the presidential election. Voters are split on who they want in office.
“I don't want to vote for Trump, never do it. He don’t understand Hispanic people,” Mirva Irizarry of New Britain said.
“I don’t like the other [candidate], Kamala Harris,” Jessica Rosario of Hartford said.
Mirva Irizarry from New Britain is still reeling from a comment a comedian made during a former president Donald Trump rally calling Puerto Rico ‘a floating island of garbage.’
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“I’m not garbage and my isla is very beautiful,” Irizarry said.
On the other side of the aisle, Rosario believes Trump would do a better job fixing the economy.
“The taxes are too much, it is just very expensive for taxes, and mortgage for home, the price for everything you buy,” Rosario added.
A new survey conducted by UConn’s Puerto Rican Studies Initiative in October shows that Vice President Kamala Harris leads Trump by 18% among Puerto Rican and Latino voters who participated.
“Obviously Connecticut is a Democratic state, mostly Democratic state; we are seeing mostly women identify with Kamala Harris,” Puerto Rican Studies Initiative Director Charles Venator-Santiago said.
However, Trump polls favorably with 45% of Latino men. Venator-Santiago says he believes this could be tied to cultural beliefs.
“We are seeing men who are attracted to this macho male chauvinist attitude that Trump is exuberating, they see him as a successful businessperson,” Venator-Santiago said.
Harris leads Trump on the issues of economy, inflation, and affordable housing among Latino voters surveyed. Trump shows an advantage on issues including immigration and food insecurity.
“On immigration, he [Trump] has made a clear statement, whereas the democrats have not made a clear statement about how they are going to address the border, or dreamers, or DACA students,” Venator-Santiago added.
It’s important to point out, this survey wrapped up before the comedian made the "garbage" comment during a Trump rally.
