Former President Donald Trump participated in a roundtable with Latino business leaders at his Doral resort. NBC6’s Hatzel Vela reports
Cuban Americans' support of former President Donald Trump is at an all-time high, according to a new Florida International University poll.
The FIU Cuba Poll 2024 released Wednesday found 68% of likely Cuban American voters in Miami-Dade County plan to vote for Trump in next month's election.
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About 23% said they plan to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris, with another 5% undecided.
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The 68% support for Trump is the highest the Republican has garnered in the poll. In 2016, he had 35% approval and in 2020, 59%.
Trump's 2024 approval is also higher than the actual Cuban American vote for him in both previous elections.
The 2024 poll surveyed 1,001 Cuban Americans in Miami-Dade County by phone between Sept. 25 and Oct. 9 and included only likely voters.
The FIU Cuba Poll is the longest running survey of Cuban Americans in the country, and has been tracking the community since 1991.
About 55% of Cuban Americans are registered Republicans compared to 18% who are registered Democrats and 27% who are registered independents, the poll found.
Respondents were asked which issues facing the country were the most important to them and it's no surprise that the answers varied depening on party affiliation.
Republican Cuban Americans said the top issues are the economy, immigration, and access to health care, while Democrats said access to health care, access to safe abortion care, and the economy were their top issues.
DECISION 2024
As for the U.S. embargo against Cuba, 55% of Cuban Americans in South Florida support its continuation, although there's higher support for some engagement policies such as the selling of food and medicine to the island.
Support for the continuation of the embargo dropped to 43% among Cuban Americans not born on the island.
Respondents were also asked about the Florida Senate race, which has incumbent Rick Scott, the Republican, facing Democrat challenger Debbie Mucarsel-Powell.
About 50% of Cuban American voters support Scott, compared to 19% for Mucarsel-Powell, with another 22% undecided.
