Eight in 10 Hispanic voters have an unfavorable view of GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump – including seven in 10 reporting a “very unfavorable” opinion – according to a poll released Thursday.
Eighty percent of Hispanic voters reported an unfavorable opinion of Mr. Trump in the Washington Post-Univision New poll, compared to 16 percent who said they have a favorable view of him.
The GOP has been working to narrow the party’s deficit among Hispanic voters from 2012, when President Obama carried Hispanics by a 71 percent to 27 percent margin over Republican nominee Mitt Romney, according to exit polls.
But Mr. Trump, who has repeatedly pledged to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and says drugs and criminals are streaming across into the United States, would lose the Hispanic vote by an even greater margin than Mr. Romney - 73 percent to 16 percent to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and 72 percent to 16 percent to Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont.
Seventy-four percent said Mr. Trump’s views on immigration are offensive to them, though 64 percent said his beliefs only represent his own views and not the Republican party’s.
Mrs. Clinton, meanwhile, led Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida by 30 points, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas Cruz by 38 points, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich by 43 points.
Mr. Sanders led Mr. Rubio by 24 points, Mr. Cruz by 33 points, and Mr. Kasich by 37 points.
Fifty-one percent of Hispanic voters also said they would definitely support the Democratic presidential candidate no matter who the nominee was, compared to 14 percent who said they would vote for the Republican candidate and 32 percent who said they weren’t sure.
Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Sanders both had positive favorability ratings. Mrs. Clinton had a 67 percent/30 percent favorable/unfavorable split, and Mr. Sanders had a 60 percent/23 percent split.
Mr. Rubio had a 45 percent/37 percent favorable/unfavorable split, Mr. Cruz had a 39 percent/44 percent split, and Mr. Kasich had a 27 percent/21 percent split, with more than half not reporting an opinion about the Ohio governor.
Among GOP primary voters only, Mr. Rubio had the edge with 34 percent support, followed by Mr. Trump at 22 percent and Mr. Cruz at 21 percent.
Mrs. Clinton, meanwhile, had a 2-to-1 advantage over Mr. Sanders among likely Democratic primary voters, 57 percent to 28 percent.
Democrats were also more trusted than Republicans to handle issues like health care, immigration, gay marriage, and the economy, though the gap was significantly closer on the issue of terrorism.
The economy was the top issue for 33 percent of voters, followed by immigration at 17 percent, education at 16 percent, and health care at 11 percent.
Eighty-two percent said they would like the next president to support a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, and 43 percent said they would not vote for a candidate who is against that policy.
A plurality of voters also said it would make them less likely to support a candidate who wanted to continue President Obama’s policy on deportation enforcement for illegal immigrants.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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