President Barack Obama has eclipsed 70 percent support among Latino voters nationwide in the latest installment of a weekly tracking survey conducted by Latino Decisions.
The poll, conducted Oct. 12-18 and released on Monday, shows Obama earning the support of 71 percent while Mitt Romney trails distantly with 20 percent. Those results represent a shift in opposite directions for both candidates since last week’s poll. Obama has ticked up 4 points since the previous Latino Decisions poll, while Romney has seen a 3-point dip.
The poll also shows a high level of engagement among Latino voters — crucial to an Obama campaign that is banking on a high voter turnout among its core supporters. Seventy-seven percent of Latino voters surveyed in Monday’s poll said they talked with friends or family members about candidates or issues in the last few months.
A poll based on an oversample of Latino voters from Sunday’s NBC News/WallStreet Journal survey also shows Obama reaching 70 percent among the growing voting bloc. The poll shows Obama earning the support of 70 percent of likely Latino voters, while Romney trails with 25 percent support. Obama polled at 71 percent among likely Latino voters in the previous NBC/WSJ poll in late-September, while Romney trailed with 21 percent at that time.
The PollTracker Average shows Obama maintaining the massive lead among Latinos that he has held throughout the 2012 election cycle.
Update: This post was updated to include information from the NBC/WSJ poll.
