CHARLOTTE, N.C. — More than a week after the election, experts are still gathering information about how people voted. New research reveals the early polls might not be what they seemed, especially for Latino voters.
UnidosUS found 62% of Latino voters chose Kamala Harris compared to 37% for Donald Trump. That's a 25-point margin.
It's very different than the Axios survey from a week prior that found Trump secured 46% of Latino voters—the largest share of this group for a Republican candidate in recent years.
Though there was a lot of pressure on this demographic to potentially sway the election either way, experts say that wasn't the case.
"Latino voters were not instrumental in the Trump victory," Gary Segura, president and co-founder of BSP Research, said. "If no Latino had cast a ballot, the outcome would be unchanged."
UnidosUS surveyed 3,750 voters. Some 300 were from North Carolina, an important battleground state.
"We do this polling, number one, with bigger samples of the Latino community that kind of like reflect our actual electorate," Frederick Velez from the Hispanic Federation explained. "We also have the cultural, linguistical competence, I would say, of knowing how to frame questions, how to talk to people."
On the local level, it's something Rusty Price sees as CEO of Camino, a nonprofit that supports the Latino communities in Charlotte.
"Many times, they don't understand our form of politics if they haven't been here a long time," Price said. "When you use terms like right wing or left wing, they'll bring a definition with them from their country that may be very different."
Price also pointed out that the research found 45% of Latino voters hadn't been reached at all this election season. He hopes conversations like this will be more inclusive going forward.
Contact Julie Kay at juliekay@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.