Exit Poll: Colorado Latino Voters Shape 2026 Midterm Results
Latino voters in Colorado turned out as a decisive voting bloc in the 2026 midterm elections, supporting Democratic federal candidates by a 67% majority statewide, according to results from the biannual Colorado Latino Exit Poll released today.
Consistent with prior polling, Latino voter choices were largely driven by economic issues, including the rising cost of healthcare. Seven out of 10 (73%) Latino voters also said that immigration was a significant vote driver in this election.
“Latino voters in Colorado were once again driven by their policy priorities and a desire to deliver real change for their communities rather than strict party loyalty,” said pollster Dr. Gabe Sanchez of BSP Research. “We saw this clearly in competitive districts like CD-8, but really statewide, where robust turnout and more than twice the support for Democrats than Republicans helped remake Colorado’s political landscape. The Latino community has high expectations of their leaders, and we’re seeing what happens when those leaders fail to deliver.”
In a high-stakes election cycle featuring key congressional battles in Colorado, Latino support proved essential in determining representation across multiple districts — backing Democratic candidates by more than a two-to-one margin over Republicans statewide (67% D, 31% R).
In Congressional District 8 (CD-8), the state’s highest-concentration Latino district, Latino voters delivered 67% support for Democrat Manny Rutinel, handing him a decisive victory over Republican incumbent Gabe Evans (31%) with a notable 11-point jump from the 56% support for the Democratic candidate in CD-8 in 2024. In Denver’s CD-1, 70% of Latino voters supported Democrat Melat Kiros compared to 27% for Republican Christy Peterson.
Fielded from Oct. 19 through Election Day (Nov. 3), the Colorado Latino Exit Poll surveyed 500 Latino registered voters statewide in both English and Spanish, with oversamples in Congressional District 8 (N=162) and Congressional District 1 (N=111), carrying an overall margin of error of +/- 4.4%. Polling was commissioned by the Colorado Latino Agenda, an initiative of Voces Unidas/Voces Unidas Action Fund and COLOR/COLOR Action Fund, which publishes insights into the demographic makeup and views of Latinos in Colorado on pressing policy, political, and social issues, including the annual Colorado Latino Policy Agenda released earlier this year.
Key takeaways from the 2026 Colorado Latino Exit Poll include:
67% statewide support for Democratic congressional candidates in 2026 (+4% increase from 2024).
Decisive Latino turnout in key districts: CD-8 (67% for Manny Rutinel), and CD-1 (70% for Melat Kiros).
Top policy concerns remained centered on the economy: inflation/cost of living (cited by 44% as the top concern for federal government to address / 51% for state government to address), improving wages (33% federal / 45% state), creating affordable and attainable housing (26% federal / 20% state), and lowering healthcare costs (24% federal / 29% state).
Protecting immigrant rights surged to a top federal priority (24%, up from 10% in 2024), with 73% reporting immigration policy and enforcement influenced their vote choice.
Latino voters were more than twice as likely to name protecting immigrant rights and immigration reform as a top federal priority (24%) over increasing border security and limiting immigration (10%). A similar pattern emerged at the state level, where Latinos prioritized protecting immigrant rights (15%) over reducing public support for immigrants (4%) by a nearly 4-to-1 margin.
When asked about primary voting motivations, 36% of respondents cited standing up for issues they care about, while 29% sought to make positive change in their community. Frustration with the way things are going (23%) rose from the fifth-highest motivator in 2024 to the third-highest this year. Notably, 56% felt the Democratic Party would do a better job addressing their top policy priority compared to 23% for the Republican Party.
“The midterm results show that Latino voters continue to be a decisive factor in Colorado’s elections,” said Alex Sánchez, CEO of Voces Unidas de las Montañas and Voces Unidas Action Fund. “The data point to clear expectations and a mandate to deliver on affordability, better wages, and protections for immigrant families. Newly elected leaders who mistake that support for unconditional loyalty risk the same fate as those who have failed Latino communities in the past.”
Latino voters represent 17% of the overall electorate in Colorado, although demographic breakdowns of midterm voting revealed notable gaps within the Latino electorate. A 15-point gender gap emerged in congressional races, with 74% of Latina women supporting Democratic candidates compared to 59% of Latino men. The gap was even wider by nativity: 78% of naturalized Latino immigrants voted for Democrats compared to 66% of US-born Latinos, likely driven by heightened salience around immigration policy and enforcement.
Economic concerns, including the cost of healthcare, proved to be the biggest motivator for Latino voters when it came to casting their ballots, however. The top four issues Latinos want both the federal and state leaders to address are tied to the economy, personal finances, housing, and healthcare costs.
“Rising healthcare costs and the persistent threat of losing health insurance coverage continue to impose severe financial strain on Latinas and Latinos in Colorado,” said Dusti Gurule, President and CEO of Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR) and COLOR Action Fund. “Lowering healthcare costs remains a top demand across both federal and state levels, cited by nearly a quarter of Latino voters as a national priority and nearly 30% as a state priority. Our community needs elected leadership committed to protecting coverage, expanding access to healthcare, and guaranteeing that no family is pushed into hardship over essential medical care.”
While Latino voters remain clear-eyed about their values and the importance of electing leaders who reflect them, many expressed their confusion over the way Colorado’s ballot measures are written (39%). That confusion was clearly represented in the exit poll by the disconnect between respondents’ stated personal values and priorities and how they remember actually voting on the election’s multiple ballot measures. Latinos overwhelmingly agreed on their opinions about the underlying values of various measures, yet support for the measures varied widely due to the large proportion who reported either not understanding or not voting on the measures.
Polling data suggests the disconnect is more of a voter information problem than a voter confusion problem. Despite the magnitude of this election, more than 3-in-5 (61%) Latino voters reported they were not contacted by a candidate, political party, campaign, or other group to discuss issues or encourage them to vote. Spanish speakers, those with less education, lower incomes, and independent voters were among the least likely to be contacted.
Since launching in 2021, Colorado Latino Agenda polling data has consistently documented a similar lack of outreach to Latino voters, demonstrating both the need and opportunity for clear campaign messaging to reach this important voting bloc.
About: The Colorado Latino Exit Poll is part of the Colorado Latino Agenda (CLA), a research initiative led by Voces Unidas de las Montañas, Voces Unidas Action Fund, Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR), and COLOR Action Fund to provide insights into the demographic makeup and views of Latino adults in Colorado on pressing policy, political, and social issues. Polling for the initiative is conducted by BSP Research, a national firm with a 20+ year track record of researching minority communities. Learn more at coloradolatinoagenda.org.
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