With President Obama in a position to claim a record high share of Latino voters, a leading research firm said Monday that the incumbent’s performance among America’s fastest growing voting bloc should put him over the top in swing states and help him secure a second term.
Acording to a report by Latino Decisions, Obama is “poised to win a record high share of the Latino vote, and in turn likely to win key swing states and enough electoral college votes to retain the presidency.”
Latino Decisions shows Obama earning the support of 73 percent of Latino voters with “consistent vote history or have already voted” — creating big separation from Mitt Romney, who picks up only 24 percent. If Obama reaches such a high-level of support, he would exceed former President Bill Clinton’s 72 percent share of the Latino vote in 1996. Matt Barreto, principal investigator for Latino Decisions, said that could augur well for Obama in a handful of key battlegrounds.
“With 11 weeks of tracking, we are headed towards a record level of Latino votes for a Democratic presidential candidate,” Barreto said. “If Latinos turnout at the high rates we are expecting, they could deliver Nevada, Colorado, Florida and Virginia to Obama.”
