President Obama has taken more than 70 percent of Latino voters in three national polls over the last week, while support for Republican candidate Mitt Romney in that voting bloc has dipped to the mid to low twenties.
Obama pulled exactly 70 percent in an NBC/WSJ/Telemundo poll out Wednesday, 71 percent in a CNN survey released Tuesday, and 73 percent in the Latino Decisions tracking poll which dropped Monday. Obama got 63 percent of registered Latino voters in an mid-August poll from NBC/WSJ/Telemundo, with Romney getting 28 percent — the new 71 percent Obama/21 percent Romney split in the NBC survey is among likely Latino voters. From NBC’s FirstRead blog:
Republican pollster Bill McInturff, who conducted the poll with Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart, calls the 70 percent figure a “significant” and “cautionary note” to Romney and the Republican Party, and suggests that losing the Latino vote by that margin would be difficult to overcome.
It appears that Romney’s comments that “47 percent” of Americans are dependent on government took a toll on his standing with Hispanics. Romney’s favorability score has cratered with the group, with his negatives hitting an all-time high. Fifty-three percent now say they have a negative impression of Romney and just 23 percent say they have a positive one. That 30-point difference is 17 points worse than in August.
The PollTracker Average of the presidential race among Latino voters has shown Obama ticking up while Romney falling within the demographic.
