Economic stress, political polarization and health care access are shaping the political perceptions of Latinos in Colorado, according to a new statewide report released Wednesday.<\/p>\n
One-third of respondents in the latest Colorado Latino Agenda<\/a> said their financial situation worsened over the past year. The fifth annual report, which surveys the state\u2019s Latino community on pressing policy and social issues, highlights mounting economic anxieties and shifting views on politics and immigration.<\/p>\n The statewide public research initiative is co-led by Voces Unidas de las Monta\u00f1as and the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights.<\/p>\n For the fifth year in a row, the Colorado Latino Policy Agenda report<\/a> was dominated by concerns over economic issues and affordability<\/a>. The survey\u2019s sample size of 1,700 respondents \u2014 made up of 1,245 Latino registered voters and 455 non-voters \u2014 echoed that, by and large, their needs had not changed much since 2021.\u00a0<\/p>\n When identifying the most important issues facing the Latino community, the same three economic concerns ranked at the top for both federal and state priorities: improving wages and income, addressing the rising cost of living and inflation, and lowering health care costs.<\/p>\n At the state level, roughly 36% of respondents said improving wages and income should be the priority for Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and members of the state legislature. The same issue was ranked second-highest at the federal level for the second consecutive year, which comes at a time when the cost of living in many parts of the state continues to outpace income levels.<\/p>\n In terms of what respondents indicated they hope the current president and his administration will address, concerns surrounding rising inflation and cost of living reached the top spot, with 33% of respondents identifying it as a priority.<\/p>\n \u201cThis marks the fourth year in a row where addressing the rising cost of living and inflation is the number one issue at the federal level,\u201d Gabe Sanchez, vice president of research at BSP Research, said during a webinar discussion of the results. \u201cSo (that) just screams that Latinos unfortunately need more policy reform, more resources to address really challenging economic time periods for this population.\u201d<\/p>\n Priorities vary only slightly when separated by region. Latinos in Colorado\u2019s 1st Congressional District were most likely to prioritize improving wages and income at 40%, with the Denver-Metro area leading among regions of the state at 36%. Latinos on the Western Slope and in the broader Western region, however, were most likely to prioritize the rising cost of living at 37%.<\/p>\n Economic issues being \u201ctop of mind\u201d for most Latino voters supports the survey finding that one-third of Latinos said their financial situation has gotten worse in the last 12 months. One-third said their financial situation has remained the same, and the final third said their financial situation has at least somewhat improved.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, every single year we ask this item, roughly a third of the Latino community has continued to lose ground financially and indicated things have gotten worse,\u201d Sanchez said. \u201cI think that sends a strong message that Latinos overall might want to see more done to address these financial concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n Other highly-voted federal priorities include addressing gun violence, increasing access to mental health care and reducing government spending. At the state level, concerns more closely follow issues of affordability, with Colorado Latinos saying they want to see the governor and legislature address the creation of affordable and attainable housing and homelessness.<\/p>\n A growing political divide<\/p>\n Overall, surveyed Latinos indicated having a more favorable view of Democrats than Republicans in both the state legislature and in Congress. Approval ratings for Democrats range between 58-61%, while favorability for Republicans ranges from 40-41%. Approval ratings among Latinos for President Donald Trump sit at 41%.<\/p>\n The majority of respondents (53%) said they felt the United States is moving in the wrong direction, while roughly the same percentage said Democrat-controlled Colorado and its counties are moving in the right direction.<\/p>\n Yet, 50% of the respondents who said they felt the country was moving in the right direction credited Trump and his administration for the positive changes, while others credited former President Joe Biden and other Democrats in Congress.<\/p>\n With a greater 66% of \u201cwrong direction\u201d respondents also blaming Trump, it\u2019s clear the majority of Latinos perceive the president to be the most responsible for the direction of the country.<\/p>\n \u201cThe take-home message is obviously that President Trump is a very polarizing political entity,\u201d Sanchez said.<\/p>\n He added that, because economic issues ranked so highly among Latinos in terms of political priorities, the Trump administration\u2019s handling of the economy in the coming year could be the biggest determining factor for a \u201crebound back towards Democrats.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you look at the underlying data, it\u2019s pretty clear that they don\u2019t feel as though things are getting better as it pertains to the transition to the Trump administration,\u201d Sanchez said. \u201cIf they don\u2019t see positive movement on inflation, cost of goods, that\u2019s going to be positive in terms of a potential rebound slightly for Democrats.\u201d<\/p>\n Immigration retakes center stage<\/p>\n The issue of protecting immigrant rights was the highest-ranked non-economic priority at the federal level in this year\u2019s survey responses, with 20% of\u00a0 Latinos identifying immigration reform as one of their top priorities. Another 8% said they prioritized increasing border security and limiting immigration to the country.<\/p>\n \u201cThe importance of protecting the rights of immigrants is likely driven by the shift in deportation policy by the Trump administration, including mass deportations in Colorado and across the country,\u201d according to the report.<\/p>\n Approximately half of Latinos in Colorado say they do not trust that state agencies will not share their personal information with ICE (53%) or that local police will not collaborate or share data with ICE (54%). An even greater majority \u2014 84% \u2014 agree that law enforcement officers operating in the state should always identify themselves, wear body cameras and drive clearly marked cars.<\/p>\n \u201cThey want folks to be treated with respect, and they think it\u2019s just obvious that it should be a transparent process,\u201d Sanchez said.<\/p>\n However, the survey also suggests that Latinos in Colorado are more open to border enforcement than they have been in the past.<\/p>\n While the majority opposes any collaboration between local officials and ICE for the goal of increased deportations, 34% of Latinos said they would approve of local elected officials volunteering Medicaid data about undocumented immigration to federal immigration enforcement officers. A greater 39% said they would be supportive of local officials sharing data on the whereabouts of migrant children, even though both are illegal in the state of Colorado.<\/p>\n Sanchez credits this transition to the worsening of economic struggles for many in the state, which the Trump administration has largely blamed on illegal immigration.<\/p>\n \u201cAgain, it\u2019s about the economy,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel as though the Trump campaign\u2019s messaging \u2026\u00a0 emphasized essentially immigrants as being the scapegoat for everything from cost of living, lack of affordable housing, anything pertaining to the economy not doing great. I think there was some evidence that Latinos were starting to buy into (those claims) a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n As border enforcement and mass deportation efforts ramp up, however, Sanchez said many Latinos might experience a \u201csobering effect\u201d deriving from the way federal immigration agents are treating Latinos who are not immigrants themselves.<\/p>\n Medicaid cuts and affordable health care<\/p>\n Roughly 9% of Latinos in Colorado report not having health insurance \u2014 up from 7% in 2024 \u2014 which jumps up to 15% for respondents not registered to vote and those making less than $40,000 annually. Of the total respondents, 34% indicated being on Medicaid, while 77% have private insurance.<\/p>\n