MIAMI (WSVN) - A new poll conducted by researchers at Florida International University sheds light into how Cuban Americans feel about the upcoming presidential election, and it shows overwhelming support for the commander in chief.
Cuban Americans are expected to make a strong showing on the side of President Donald Trump when they head to the polls in November.
“Hialeah is totally Republican as far as voting, and we are one of the strongest Trump cities in the whole United States,” said voter Julio Martinez.
FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg hosted an online discussion about the new poll on Friday.
The study is comprised of input from 1,002 randomly selected Cuban Americans, primarily in Miami-Dade County.
The online presentation, showed Trump receiving high marks for his handling of the economy.
“The economy, everybody is in on Trump’s economy,” said Dr. Guillermo Grenier from FIU.
The president also got strong approval on dealing with the COVID-19 crisis and health care.
As for the expected outcome of the election, a graph showed support for Trump eclipsing his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden.
“You can see that Trump has support throughout. Hell, 15% of Democrats are going to vote for Trump,” said Grenier.
According to the poll, Trump is on track to receive about 60% of the Cuban American vote.
Experts like University of Miami professor Michael Touchton said there is one reason behind the support.
“Republicans have successfully labeled Democrats as leaning towards socialism. This reminds Cuban Americans and Venezuelan Americans of their exile,” he said.
The poll, conducted in July and August, found Biden has the biggest backing from younger Cuban American voters who are not Cuban-born, while the strongest showing for Trump came from older voters who came to America before 1995.
“I’m an ex-political prisoner,” said Miami-Dade voter Emilio Izquierdo Jr. “The Cuban Americans that go by Democrats, they are confused.”
According to the poll, about 90% of those questioned said they plan to vote, and about 10% were still undecided when it came to who they were going to support.
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