Poll: With Latinos, Obama fares well against GOP contenders
(Photo courtesy of AFP)
By Jordan Fabian
Channel: Politics
President Obama leads a number of his Republican opponent by wide margins among Latino voters, according to a new poll released Tuesday.
Obama defeated Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in 2008 in part because of his 36-point victory over the senator in the Latino vote. Tuesday’s Public Policy Polling survey shows him leading former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R), Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) by even wider margins.
Obama fares the best against Bachmann, leading her 74-26 percent among Latinos and 50-42 overall. The president also beats Perry, whom some political operatives see as a contender for Latino votes, 72-26 percent with the demographic group, edging him 49-43 with the general population. Obama leads Romney 66-29 percent, and is tied overall with him 45-45 percent.
His wide margins are a promising sign, but the key for Obama in 2012 will be Latino turnout.
Latinos comprised approximately seven percent of the overall voting share in 2010. With the population rapidly growing and more Latinos becoming voting aged, the PPP poll indicates they could be a boon for Obama’s candidacy next year.
But if Latinos in large part fail to show up to the polls, due to the recession or frustration over immigration reform, it could weaken Obama’s chances of reelection considering how much he relied on the group three years ago.
And that could very well be a problem. An impreMedia/Latino Decisions poll released last week showed that only 38 percent of Latinos are certain to vote for Obama again and that only 50 percent said they are “very enthusiastic” about voting in 2012.
Public Policy Polling is a Democratic-leaning firm that uses automated phone calls, a methodology that’s considered to be less reliable than in-person calls. Still, their polls are generally respected in Washington.
The poll was taken between Aug. 18-21 of 700 registered voters, 10 percent of which were Latino, close to the overall percentage of Latino eligible voters in the general population. The margin of error for the overall sample is 3.7 percent.
Follow Jordan on Twitter: @JordanFabian
