Ron DeSantis Has a Problem with Hispanic Voters

Florida governor and 2024 hopeful Ron DeSantis is an unpopular figure among Hispanic voters, including more than a third who hold a "very unfavorable" view of him, according to a new poll.

A YouGov survey found that nearly half (46 percent) of Hispanic people polled either hold a somewhat unfavorable view (12 percent) or a "very unfavorable" (34 percent) view of DeSantis.

This is the same percentage of those surveyed in total that also held unfavorable views of the Florida Governor.

The YouGov poll also shows that overall, 18 percent of people said they have a "very favorable" view of DeSantis and nearly a quarter (23 percent) have a somewhat favorable view of the Republican presidential hopeful.

In November 2022 Midterms, DeSantis cruised to re-election after defeating Democratic gubernatorial candidate Charlie Christ by nearly 20 percent.

DeSantis' victory was helped by winning 58 percent of the Hispanic vote in Florida compared to Christ's 20 percent, according to a CNN exit poll.

Elsewhere, the poll found that Latino voters have a much more divisive view of Donald Trump, long considered the favorite to clinch the GOP presidential nomination in 2024, compared to DeSantis.

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

The YouGov poll arrives weeks after Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador urged Latinos not to vote for DeSantis in the next U.S. presidential election over his hardline immigration policies.

In May, DeSantis vowed that he would declare a national emergency "construct a border wall" between the U.S. and Mexico in order to control illegal immigration, a policy which formed the center of Trump's 2016 campaign.

DeSantis also vowed to reinstate Trump's Remain in Mexico" policy if elected president. The policy saw migrants seeking asylum being held in Mexico until their U.S. immigration court date.

"All of his playing politics with migrants was because he wanted to be the Republican party candidate," López Obrador told a government press conference. "I hope the Hispanics of Florida wake up and don't give him a single vote."

DeSantis was also previously criticized over his stunt in flying migrants from Texas to the affluent Martha's Vineyard area of Massachusetts.

More recently, California Governor Gavin Newsom blamed DeSantis for being involved in two groups of migrants from Venezuela and Colombia being flown on a private flight from Texas to California. Both groups were carrying paperwork that links them to Florida.

While the Florida Division of Emergency Management admitted a role in the flights, DeSantis has not confirmed or denied he was behind them.

In a June 5 tweet, Newsome suggested DeSantis could face "kidnapping" charges under California law.

Attorney Andrew Lieb, legal and political analyst, told Newsweek that the idea that the Florida Governor could face kidnapping charges if found to be behind the migrants' flights to Sacramento is "going nowhere, besides political firepower, quickly."

The YouGov poll was conducted between 1500 people between June 10—June 13. It has a margin of error of 2.7 percentage points,

DeSantis office has been contacted for comment via email.