President Barack Obama holds commanding leads among Latino voters in five states expected to be competitive in the 2012 election, according to a new poll released Friday.
The latest poll by Latino Decisions and America’s Voice surveyed Latino registered voters in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Nevada and Virginia. In all five states, Obama has at least a 16-point lead over presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney.
The president has generated considerable enthusiasm among the Latino community since last week, when he announced a directive to halt the deportation of some young undocumented immigrants. Two days after the announcementr, Latino Decisions released a separate poll showing that 49 percent of Latino voters are more enthusiastic about Obama in the wake of his announcement.
In a continuation of that survey, conducted through Thursday among 2,000 respondents, the percentage of Latino voters now more enthusiastic about the president has jumped to 54 percent, compared with only 11 percent who are less enthusiastic.
