Some Republicans have expressed concerns that Hispanics would feel alienated by hard-line rhetoric against illegal immigration in the GOP primary campaign — particularly from Romney, who has used the issue to attack Perry and former House speaker Newt Gingrich from the right. They worry that the debate might squander an opportunity to take advantage of Obama’s declining support among Hispanics, particularly centrists and conservatives.
The survey shows Romney’s vulnerabilities, however. Even among voters who disagree with Obama’s deportation policies, a clear majority backs the president over Romney. Obama wins more than one-fourth of Hispanic voters who identify with or lean toward the Republican Party.
The survey of Hispanic adults and voters, conducted Nov. 9 through Dec. 7, did not measure support for Gingrich or other current potential Republican nominees. (A survey in early November by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found that Gingrich cut further into Obama’s lead among Hispanics, with Obama leading 61 percent to 36 percent, though the sample size was small and the error margin high.)
Gingrich, who has courted leaders of the Hispanic community for years through his political and business enterprises, has staked out a softer line on illegal immigrants than Romney, saying that many with deep family or community ties should be granted legal status and permitted to stay in the United States.
The new Pew poll found that immigration is “extremely important” for a third of Hispanic voters, although that issue trails jobs, education, health care, taxes and the federal budget deficit on that list.
Democrats retain a strong advantage when Hispanics are asked which party they identify with, with two-thirds of voters picking Democrats and one-fifth siding with the GOP.
Neither party secured a majority when voters were asked which one showed more concern for Hispanics, with 45 percent picking the Democrats and 12 percent picking the Republicans. In 2010, 6 percent picked Republicans.
Some Republicans think that tapping Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.), a Cuban American son of immigrants, as the party’s vice presidential nominee could offer a quick fix to their Hispanic problem. At the moment, the poll found, Rubio remains largely unknown to Hispanics nationally, with a majority saying they had not heard of him, couldn’t rate him or didn’t know whether they viewed him favorably.
Polling director Jon Cohen and polling analyst Peyton M. Craighill contributed to this report.
This commenter is a Washington Post contributor. Post contributors aren’t staff, but may write articles or columns. In some cases, contributors are sources or experts quoted in a story.
Comments our editors find particularly useful or relevant are displayed in Top Comments, as are comments by users with these badges: . Replies to those posts appear here, as well as posts by staff writers.
To pause and restart automatic updates, click "Live" or "Paused". If paused, you'll be notified of the number of additional comments that have come in.
Comments our editors find particularly useful or relevant are displayed in Top Comments, as are comments by users with these badges: . Replies to those posts appear here, as well as posts by staff writers.
Loading...
Comments