There is a growing concern amongst Democrats they are losing their grip on Latino voters as recent data shows their second-largest voting demographic is being split with Republicans.

The data found by the Wall Street Journal shows more Latino voters are shifting right as turnout was lower than anticipated in states such as Florida and Texas. President Biden was still able to win 63% of the Hispanic vote in the 2020 presidential election but Democrats are still wary of losing voters.

“Do I think that Democrats’ heads should be on fire over this issue? Yeah, I do. I think that their head should be on fire over this issue every day regardless of what polls say,” Ivan Zapien, a former executive director at the Hispanic Leadership Council of the Democratic National Committee told the Hill.

According to the Journal, just 44% of Latino voters would vote for Biden with 43% voting for former President Trump in a hypothetical 2024 election. The shift towards Trump has been greatly demonstrated in South Texas after Trump was able to win the district by 13 points, the same margin as Hillary Clinton in 2016.

“The ideology of defunding the police, of destroying the oil and gas industry, and the chaos at our border is disastrous for those of us who live here in South Texas,” State Rep. Ryan Guillen, a Republican, told the New York Times.

Guillen recently switched party affiliation due to his fiscally conservative, pro-business, and pro-life views.

“I have found that my core beliefs align with the Republican Party,” he said. “I am confident that my switch today is the right decision,” Guillen added.

Northwestern University history professor Geraldo Cavada who authored the book, “The Hispanic Republican,” told the Times that Republican lawmakers want to prove they have made gains with Hispanic voters and they intend to capitalize on the momentum following the 2020 election.

The shift can be explained by most Hispanic men believing Republicans have a better economic policy and that they want to return to the policies Trump had implemented during his presidency.

On the other hand, Hispanic women are more likely to favor Democratic economic policy and stick with Biden, the Journal noted. Hispanic voters feel Republicans are better equipped to control inflation, cut the deficit, and secure the border while believing Democrats are better equipped to handle the pandemic and make healthcare more affordable.

Hispanic voter participation grew by nearly 30% from 2016 to 2020 with 16.1 million Hispanic voters participating in the election out of 32 million eligible voters. When asked about party affiliation there was a 20% increase in Hispanic voters identifying as Republican, a 16% increase in voters identifying as Democrats, and a 14% increase in voters identifying as Independents. Out of the total voters who participated in the election, 11% of them were Hispanic.

According to AS/COA, 66% of Hispanic voters identify as Democrats with 32% identifying as Republicans whereas in 2016 65% of Hispanic voters identified as Democrats with 29% identifying as Republicans.

Young voters between the ages of 18 and 34 made up 30% of the new voters as participation in the age group grew 41%. Youth participation is crucial for the Hispanic vote as they are on average the youngest out of any racial voting demographic.

"Regardless of their party affiliation, Hispanic registration just grew faster than non-Hispanics, and I think now more than ever campaigns just realize they can not afford to miss out on this opportunity to win over this audience," said Michele Day, senior vice president at Univision.