Hispanics: Uncertainty and Decline in approval towards the Democratic Vote.

impreMedia announced the results of a tracking poll that covers Latino  perspectives on the current political climate and the job done by Congress and President Obama.
 
Thirty-six percent  of survey respondents listed Immigration Reform/The Dream Act as their top concern when asked what is the most important issues facing the Latino community that Congress and the President should address. Thirty-three percent cited  creating jobs and fixing the economy as their top concern.
 
The poll also covered registered Latino voters’ opinions of the President, Congress, and the Democrat and Republican parties. While Obama and the Democratic Party are still favored over the Republicans, results suggest Latino voters are concerned about the current political leadership resulting in a significant number of voters saying they are undecided about the upcoming 2012 presidential election.
 
“Both parties should be worried,” said Monica Lozano, CEO of impreMedia, “Data from the 2010 Census reaffirms that Hispanics are a larger and more important voting bloc than ever, and neither Democrats nor Republicans can afford to lose that vote or be perceived as failing to connect to the Latino community.”
 
When asked what they thought of the job Barack Obama was doing, 73% responded that they either strongly approved or somewhat approved. When asked the same question about the U.S. Congress, 12% said they strongly approve, 27% said somewhat approve, and 45% said either somewhat disapprove or strongly disapprove.

The poll additionally asked registered voters to look ahead to the 2012 election and if they were more likely to vote for Barack Obama or for the Republican challenger. Forty-one percent said they were certain to vote for Obama, 14% said they would vote Obama but could change their mind, 10% were undecided but leaning towards Obama, and 14% listed themselves as undecided/don’t know.

The Republican vote has also not improved with respect to Latino vote. The same series of questions were fielded in February and 66% felt that Republicans were being hostile and didn’t care too much about reaching out to Latinos. While today’s poll indicates a slight decline to  62%, the Republican image to Latinos is still a negative one. Interestingly enough the poorest image of Republicans come from those who are U.S. born with just17% of respondents saying they ‘think Republicans are currently doing a good job’.
Respondents were also asked about how well they felt the Republican and Democratic parties were reaching out to Hispanics: “Would you say the [Republican or Democratic] party is currently doing a good job of reaching out to Hispanics, that they don’t care too much about Hispanics, or that they are being hostile towards Hispanics?”

Forty-seven percent said the Democratic Party was doing a “good job” versus 21% for the Republican Party. 27% responded “don’t care too much,” and 11% said “being hostile” for the Democrats, versus 42% and 20% for the Republicans. The results also indicated a slight drop for Democrats, compared to a poll with the same question in February, when 52% indicated they felt the Democratic Party was doing a good job. 

“Neither party has really done enough to build a connection to Latinos,” stated Monica Lozano, “although Democrats are still favored, it is  not going in the right direction, and while Republicans have improved their approval ratings with Latinos slightly, it is still not enough to show they have the support needed to win in a presidential election”

A breakdown of the findings are below: 

Generally speaking what are the most important issues facing the Latino community that you think Congress and the President should address?

36%- Immigration reform/Dream Act:  (35% U.S. born/37% foreign born)

33% -Unemployment/economy:  (37% U.S. born/30% foreign born)

And do you approve/disapprove of the job Barack Obama is doing as President?

38% – Strongly approve (34% U.S. born / 41% foreign born)

And do you approve/disapprove of the job the U.S. Congress is doing?

27% – Somewhat approve (26% U.S. born / 27% foreign born)

Thinking ahead to the  November 2012 Presidential election, would you say you are more likely to vote for Democrat Barack Obama, or for the Republican Challenger?

41% – Certain to vote for Obama (40% U.S. born / 42% foreign born)

14% – Undecided / Don’t know (14% U.S. born / 15% foreign born)

Collapsed 2012 Vote from above question?

65% – Vote for Obama (with weak supporters +leaners (67% U.S. born / 64% foreign born)
 
Thinking about the two political parties in America…
 

Would you say the Democratic party is currently doing a good job of reaching out to Hispanics, that they don’t care too much about Hispanics, or that they are being hostile towards Hispanics?

47% – Good Job  (51% U.S. born / 42% foreign born)

Would you say the Republican party is currently doing a good job of reaching out to Hispanics, that they don’t care too much about Hispanics, or that they are being hostile towards Hispanics?

21% – Good job (17% U.S. born / 25% foreign born)

42% Don’t care too much (51% U.S. born / 35% foreign born)

20% Being hostile (22% U.S. born / 19% foreign born)

Generally speaking, do you think of yourself as a Republican, an independent or something else?

14% – Republican  (12% U.S. born / 16% foreign born)

54% – Democrat  (55% U.S. born / 53% foreign born)
 
Each poll in the series of six reflects Latinos views on current issues related to the economy, education, immigration and healthcare. The current poll surveyed views surrounding the Latino vote and approval of current job being done by Congress and President Obama. The poll is conducted with a sample of 500 registered Latino voters.