LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--impreMedia, the leading Hispanic news and information company, released the second part of its initial tracking poll focused on Hispanics’ view of the President, Congress and government initiatives central to Hispanics.
The poll revealed that Latino registered voters had favorable opinions of President Obama with 70% of Hispanics showing approval of the job the President is doing while 33% disapprove of his performance. Furthermore, 55% will vote or are leaning to vote for Obama in the upcoming 2012 election. In contrast, according to a national poll by CNN, voters at large displayed an approval of 55% and a disapproval of 44%.
When asked about the performance of Congress, Latinos expressed mixed views: 44% disapprove, 42% approve, and 22% neither disapprove or approve.
The poll also asked registered voters about how the Republican and Democrat Parties reached out to Latino voters. The results showed that 52% felt that Democrats were doing a good job while only 18% felt the same about Republicans.
The tracking poll is also set to ask about how Latinos view various leaders of the GOP. In this poll, registered voters were asked about the impression of former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin. The poll showed that 23% had a favorable impression while 52% had an unfavorable impression.
Overall confidence in President Obama and Democrats is positive, however, issues central to Hispanics have not been addressed and could impact the upcoming 2012 election. As noted in the previous release immigration is top priority for Latinos even surpassing the economy. In a related issue, 85% of Latinos, both US and foreign born, approve of the DREAM Act. During President Obama’s tenure a lot has been promised in respect to issues that directly affect Hispanics such as education, the DREAM Act and immigration reform. Hispanics have seen slow progress to these issues and also foresee changes to help aid the economy even slower.
“The President, the Congress and both parties need to address issues that are important to Hispanics given their increasing political clout and rates of participation,” stated Monica Lozano, CEO of impreMedia. “Latinos are looking for a government that is more responsive to their needs.”
According to the Pew Hispanic Center and as indicated from the first release of the 2010 Census a growing number of Latinos, 20.1 million Hispanics, are now eligible to vote. Furthermore, the reapportionment of congressional and Senate seats place Latinos in a pivotal position in the upcoming elections of the United States. While President Obama and the Democrats now hold a favorable opinion, 23% of Latino voters are undecided. President Obama and Democrats could face challenges with the Latino vote in the 2012 presidential elections if issues important to Latinos are not addressed.
A breakdown of the findings are below:
-
Do you approve/disapprove of the job Barack Obama is doing as
President?
- Strongly Approve: 32% (30% U.S. born/34% foreign born)
- Somewhat Approve : 38% (39% U.S. born/36% foreign born)
-
Do you approve/disapprove of the job the U.S. Congress is doing?
- 8% - Strongly Approve (6% U.S. born / 10% foreign born)
- 34%-Somewhat Approve (36% U.S. born / 32% foreign born)
-
Thinking ahead to the November 2012 Presidential election, are you
most likely to vote for Democrat Obama or the Republican challenger?
- 43% - Certain to vote for Obama but could change mind (45% U.S. born / 40% foreign born)
-
Would you say the Democratic Party is currently doing a good job of
reaching out to Hispanics?
- 52% - Good Job (55% U.S. born / 48% foreign born)
-
Would you say the Republican Party is currently doing a good job of
reaching out to Hispanics?
- 36% - Don’t care too much (40% U.S. born / 32% foreign born)
- 30%- Being negative (28% U.S. born / 32% foreign born)
-
Generally speaking, what is your impression of former Alaska Governor
Sarah Palin?
- 7% - Very favorable (11% U.S. born / 4% foreign born)
- 36% - Very unfavorable (39% U.S. born / 33% foreign born)
Each poll in the series of six reflects Latinos' views on current issues related to the economy, education, immigration and healthcare. The first poll focused on economic issues, this second one on politics. The third poll results are scheduled to be released on April 7, 2011. The poll is conducted with a sample of 500 registered Latino voters.
Methodology
Latino Decisions surveyed 500 registered voters between January 24th and February 5th in 21 states with the largest Hispanic populations, comprising 94% percent of the US Hispanic electorate. Voters were selected randomly from the registered voter lists and households were identified for contact using the Census Bureau Hispanic surname list, and merged with third party data to secure telephone numbers. Results were weighted to account for minor deviations from known population characteristics. The margin of error is +/- 4.38% on the full sample.
Voter registration status and Hispanic identification were verified upon contact with respondents, who confirmed if they are registered to vote and of Hispanic/Latino descent. Census Bureau reports suggest approximately 90% of all Latinos in the U.S. have a Spanish-surname. In identifying citizens registered to vote, the registered voter list is far superior to either a simple RDD or household list of Spanish-surname households because of non-citizenship, low rates of voter registration among Latinos, and well-documented propensity of all survey respondents, regardless of ethnicity, to over-report registration status.
Surveying was conducted by fully bilingual interviewers. Respondents were greeted in both languages, and surveys were conducted in either English or Spanish, at the discretion of the respondent. Up to five callbacks are scheduled for each record. The survey instrument was created by Dr. Matt Barreto and Dr. Gary Segura in consultation with impreMedia and translated into Spanish. The survey was administered under the direction of Pacific Market Research, in Renton, Washington, and performed using a Computer-Assisted-Telephone-Interviewing (CATI) protocols. CATI programming is performed by Pacific Market Research. Average interview length was 11.43 minutes.
About impreMedia
impreMedia is the leading Hispanic news and information company in the U.S. in online and print. impreMedia's multi-platform offerings range from online to video, social media, mobile, audio, newspapers and magazines, including the http://www.impre.com portal. 25.5% of U.S. Hispanic adults use an impreMedia network product. The network is also the nation's largest Hispanic newspaper publisher with newspapers in top U.S. Hispanic markets, reaching 15 markets total that represent 59% of the U.S. Hispanic population. Its leading publications include La Opinión in Los Angeles and El Diario La Prensa in New York. For more information, visit: http://www.impremedia.com.
ImpreMedia portals and publication websites are: www.impre.com, www.laopinion.com, www.eldiariony.com, www.hoynyc.com, www.laraza.com, www.laprensafl.com, www.elmensajero.com, www.rumbotx.com, www.vistamagazine.com, and www.contigola.com, www.lavibra.com, www.impreautos.com.
About Latino Decisions
Latino Decisions is a joint effort between Pacific Market Research, a nationally known research firm, and Dr. Gary Segura and Dr. Matt Barreto, leading Latino politics scholars and professors at Stanford University and the University of Washington. Both Dr. Segura and Dr. Barreto are experienced and nationally respected researchers who have a deep understanding of U.S. Latino culture and advanced quantitative research skills. Their expertise, coupled with Pacific Market Research’s logistical capabilities, makes Latino Decisions a leader in the field. For more information, please visit www.latinodecisions.com or call 877-271-2300.