New data shows that Democrats’ longtime advantage with Black, Latino and Asian American voters has shrunk to its lowest point in more than 60 years — creating a massive vulnerability for President Biden and congressional Democrats.
Why it matters: One of the most loyal parts of the Democratic coalition is suddenly in danger. Black and Hispanic men could vote Republican in numbers not seen since President Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected in the 1950s.
The big picture: Latinos, the nation’s largest non-white group, still lean Democratic. But they’ve been shifting Republican over the last two decades, and are no longer the slam-dunk Democrats they were in 1960 when JFK ran for president.
By the numbers: Democrats’ advantage among Black, Latino and Asian voters is at its lowest since 1960, Financial Times columnist and chief data reporter John Burn-Murdoch found by analyzing a massive set of polling data.
The intrigue: The drop-off comes even after Trump made several racist and bigoted comments about immigrants and people of color.
Between the lines: “Part of this is due to fading memories and weakening ties. Black Americans who lived through the civil rights era still support the party at very high levels, but younger generations are wavering,” Burn-Murdoch writes.
Reality check: Not all people of color have deep ties to the Civil Rights Movement. Many of their families arrived in the U.S. after the 1960s, said Republican consultant Mike Madrid, who’s based in Sacramento.
What they’re saying: Democrats need to make a massive shift in their messages, Sisto Abeyta, a Democratic political consultant in New Mexico, tells Axios.
Democrats’ focus on abortion rights and the environment isn’t appealing to some Latinos. The face of abortion tends to be white women. Climate change fights are reduced to just getting an EV.
Flashback: Asian Americans proved themselves to be a critical voting bloc in 2022. San Francisco voted overwhelmingly to remove three progressive school board members from office.