DeSantis Loses Momentum With the Latino Electorate in His Own Fiefdom

The trend in favor of Trump presidential candidacy for next year's primaries and general election within the Republican electorate is also reflected within the Latino population.

For some analysts, this is not surprising given the governor's recent proposals on immigration, a sensitive issue for many Latinos. Legislative decisions such as SB 1718 have a significant impact on the workforce in the state of Florida. Measures such as the E-verify requirement for businesses, the collection of patient information in hospitals, the ban on transporting undocumented immigrants, and the revocation of special out-of-state driver's licenses are still fresh in the community's mind.

Far from softening his rhetoric, DeSantis has intensified it with his promise to build the border wall and now to fund it with a tax on remittances sent by immigrants to their families in Latin America.

These proposals have earned him the antipathy of thousands of Latino workers would be affected by them.

However, some experts point out that these positions will not dissuade Hispanic Republicans who agree on the need to take measures to prevent the uncontrolled entry of people across the border.

Fabio Andrade of the Republican Amigos organization told Latintimes.com in a telephone interview that Hispanic Republicans in Florida agree with the decisions made by Governor de Ron DeSantis to curb illegal entry into the United States.

Regarding the battle for the GOP nomination, he said that the trend he is seeing in the various committees of Republican Friends is more in favor of former President Trump.

"With the first results coming out of Ohio and South Carolina, it's going to start to clarify the picture," he added.

Nearly half (46 percent) of Hispanics have a somewhat unfavorable (12 percent) or very unfavorable (34 percent) opinion of DeSantis, according to the YouGov poll. The poll also shows that overall, 18 percent of people said they have a "very favorable" opinion of DeSantis and nearly a quarter (23 percent) have a somewhat favorable opinion of the Republican presidential candidate.

While more Hispanic voters have a very favorable view of Trump than DeSantis (24 to 13 percent), twice as many say they have a very unfavorable view of the former president (48 percent).

DeSantis has seen an increase in the Latino vote since he first won the governor's race in 2018, when he won 44 percent of the Latino vote over Andrew Gillum.

In the re-election results, he took a leap from 2018, winning 68% of Cuban-Americans, 56% of Puerto Ricans, and 53% of all other Latinos combined, according to the NBC News exit poll.

Among the general electorate, the latest poll of 500 Florida Republicans by pollster Tony Fabrizio shows DeSantis trailing with 22%. While Trump gets 57%. The trend is similar across the country: another CBS News poll showed strong numbers for Trump in New Hampshire, with 50% support for the former White House occupant, while DeSantis got 13%.

Polls show that Trump is beating DeSantis not only in Florida, but also elsewhere in the country, showing an increasingly-steep hill to climb for someone who at one point was seen as a strong rival for the former president.