Latinos are 16% of eligible voters in 2026, and Latino voters backing Democrats are more engaged than in 2022, Pew finds

About 39 million Latinos are projected to be eligible to vote in the 2026 midterm elections, or 16% of the roughly 250 million eligible voters in the United States, according to estimates published Sept. 10 by the Pew Research Center.

That number has grown by about 5.25 million since the 2022 midterms, an increase of 16%. Over the same period, the total number of eligible voters grew by about 8.45 million, or 3%, meaning Latinos accounted for more than half of the electorate’s growth. Pew’s projections are based on U.S. Census Bureau data, including the American Community Survey and the bureau’s population estimates.

Where Latino voters live

Using 2024 American Community Survey data, Pew found that the largest Latino electorates are in California (8.7 million eligible voters, or 33% of the state’s electorate), Texas (6.7 million, 32%), Florida (3.8 million, 23%), New York (2.2 million, 16%) and Arizona (1.4 million, 25%). New Mexico ranks first by Latino share, at 43% of eligible voters.

How Latino voters see the election

A separate Pew survey released Oct. 16, conducted Sept. 28 to Oct. 4, 2026, included 774 Latino registered voters among 5,062 U.S. adults. Among Latino registered voters:

• 51% said they would vote for the Democratic candidate for the House in their district, 24% for the Republican, 7% for another candidate, and 18% were not sure.
• 24% approved of President Trump’s handling of his job, down from 38% in February 2025, shortly after the start of his second term.
• 70% said the Trump administration’s policies have been harmful to Hispanics.
• The economy remained their top issue.

Engagement has risen among Latino voters who back Democratic House candidates, while those backing Republican candidates show lower levels of engagement this year, Pew found. Among Latino voters backing Democrats, 77% said it really matters which party wins control of Congress, up from 58% in 2022; 53% said they were extremely motivated to vote, up from 41%; and 45% said they had given a lot of thought to the election, up from 24%.

Survey results are estimates and are subject to sampling error; according to Pew’s topline, the margin of error for the 774 Latino registered voters is plus or minus 4.8 percentage points. Pew publishes its full methodology and topline questionnaire alongside the report. Pew uses the terms Latino and Hispanic interchangeably.