Washington Examiner chief political correspondent Byron York said that recent polling data is “really interesting” as President Donald Trump vies to win the midterm elections.
Data suggests Trump’s support among Hispanic voters jumped by double digits compared to last month, with one poll showing an increase by 13% and another by 15%. York said he is unsure what this means for the 2026 elections, as this year will see “states and congressional districts” compared to a presidential election like 2024.
“It is really interesting, I will say, in what’s the measurement that most of us look at a lot, which is the generic ballot,” York said Wednesday on Fox Business’s Kudlow. “You do have Democrats with a lead over Trump. Not the kind of lead they had in 2018, but a lead over Trump, and that could be very concerning to him.”
York said the “question” looming over the 2026 elections is whether the economy will do well this year, and predicted the Republican Party will have “a real chance” at winning the midterm elections. He added that Trump’s speech in Iowa was about addressing what voters can expect this year, such as bigger tax returns.
York also said Trump can’t expect voters to say, “things are really, really great,” in the present. He said more voters will hold this belief “in six months” if the improvements Trump’s forecasting materialize, but the president can’t expect voters to call their living status great “when they don’t think it is.”
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Trump’s boost in Hispanic support could be at risk as the administration continues to push immigration enforcement, which is garnering national attention after two shootings in Minnesota this month. On Tuesday, Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) pushed for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to focus on “real threats to public safety, not hardworking people who are here contributing.”
After the most recent fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, 37, ICE officers have been directed to focus only on arresting illegal immigrants who have criminal charges or convictions.