Miami Latinos Put Trump, Biden in Tight Presidential Race

By M.G. Alison. Sep 09 2020, 02:33 AM EDT

Miami Latinos are giving President Donald Trump a fighting chance for his reelection bid as a new survey had him tied statistically with Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden among the Hispanics in Miami-Dade.

The newly released poll conducted by the Miami Herald and the Bendixen & Amandi International had Trump leading by a slim margin with 47 percent to Biden's 46 percent among Miami Latinos.

This is significant because Miami-Dade is the biggest county of Florida, which is a must-win swing state.

The poll was conducted among 500 likely Miami-Dade voters from September 1 to 4 with a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points for voters' entire sample.

With Trump tightly engaging Biden for Miami Latinos voters support in Miami-Dade, this suggests that the President has successfully got the support of the Cuban Americans.

The Cuban Americans represent a big influential voting group in Miami-Dade and the entire Florida as well, according to a report on The Hill.

Historically, more than other Latinos, including Miami Latinos in Florida, the Cuban Americans have favored the Republicans over the Democrats.

Back in the 2016 presidential election, although Hillary Clinton got 62 percent of the total votes from Latinos in Florida, while Trump only managed 35 percent overall among the Cuban American voters, Trump was up by 54 percent while Clinton only had 41 percent. These numbers were taken during the exit polls.

Although Biden could rest in the poll having him clinched an overall 55 percent vote in Miami-Dade and Trump only accounts for 38 percent, Trump would not need to win Miami-Dade to get the 29 electoral votes of Florida. That is what makes the votes of Miami Latinos so important for both candidates.

If Trump could narrow the margin of victory for Biden in Miami-Dade that has always leaned on Democrats for decades, then it could help the President cut down his possible deficits in other counties of Florida, especially the swing counties along the 1-4 corridor in Central Florida.

Another reason why Biden should not take Miami Latinos for granted is that in another survey conducted by Equis Research, a Democratic firm, it showed that Biden is underperforming Clinton's margins among Hispanic voters in Florida.

In 2016, Clinton had 53 percent of all Hispanic voters in Florida to Trump's 37 percent.

In an article on Miami Herald, Miami-based pollster Fernand Amandi said that Biden underperforming in a county where he should be the strongest candidate is a source of concern. Not to mention that this county is the largest in the state, this could put Biden in trouble of winning Florida.

According to the Business Insider, Biden's soft support among Latino voters has been an issue for months.

Another survey done by NBC News/Marist Florida, and conducted from August 31 to September 6, had Trump leading Biden 50 percent to 46 percent among likely Latino voters. This means that Biden would have to work harder to get Miami Latinos' support if he wants to get Florida.