Cuban-American Voters’ Support for Trump at All-Time High

Sixty-eight percent of likely Cuban-American voters in Miami-Dade County, Florida, are planning to vote for Donald Trump in November, according to the 2024 Florida International University poll released on Wednesday.

The pollsters report that 23 percent of respondents plan to vote for Kamala Harris, and five percent remained undecided.

FIU said in a press release:

“Sixty-eight percent is the highest recorded approval rate for Trump among Cuban Americans on the FIU Cuba Poll, which is the longest running survey of Cuban Americans in the country, tracking the community since 1991. The 2016 poll registered 35% approval for Trump, while the 2020 came in at 59%. The 2024 approval rate is also greater than the actual Cuban American vote for Trump in the last two presidential elections.”

The pollsters stated that the results show “the Cuban American community remains loyal to the Republican Party and the Trump version of it.”

“It seems that the Trump train is still picking up passengers on Calle Ocho,” said Guillermo Grenier, lead investigator on the Cuba Poll and a professor of sociology in the Department of Global and Sociocultural Studies at the Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs, which sponsors the poll along with FIU’s Cuban Research Institute. “Cuban Americans born outside of Cuba being the exception, the Cuban American community remains loyal to the Republican Party and the Trump version of it.”

A 55 percent majority of registered Cuban American voters identify as Republicans.

“In the Florida senate election, U.S. Senator Rick Scott is expected to receive 50% of the Cuban American vote, while challenger Debbie Mucarsel-Powell will garner approximately 19% of the decided voters,” the poll found. “A relatively large undecided segment (22%) makes the race for the U.S. Senate seat closer than expected, given Scott’s previous overwhelming support from the community.”

The top three issues among Republican Cuban-American voters are the economy, immigration, and access to health care.

“This year’s findings confirm a long trend of Cuban American support for a sophisticated policy approach that combines sanctions against the regime while engaging with the Cuban people,” said Sebastian Arcos, interim director of the Cuban Research Institute, in a press release. “Cuban Americans have a better grasp of the issues and policy trade-offs involved than most experts and policy makers. Maintaining the U.S. embargo is at the core of this approach, which largely explains Cuban American’s traditional inclinations toward the Republican Party and strong support for Donald Trump’s policies.”

The poll was conducted between September 25 and October 9 among likely voters who are U.S. citizens.