impreMedia-Latino Decisions Weekly Tracking Poll Finds Obama Support Steady Among Latino Voters

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The latest impreMedia-Latino Decisions tracking poll released today revealed a continued trend in support for President Obama, and increased dissatisfaction with Republican outreach towards Latino voters.

“Providing more school choice through such things as vouchers might provide Romney the opportunity to change his low favorability with Latino voters.”

Sixty-seven percent of Latino voters said that if the election were held today they are certain to vote for Barack Obama, compared to just 15% for Romney. When asked who was to blame for lack of progress in the economic recovery, an overwhelming majority blamed gridlock in Congress while only 15% named Obama.

Support for congressional Democrats stayed steady, with 64% of respondents saying they are planning to vote Democrat in the upcoming election, compared to 15% planning to vote Republican. Combining the likely voter categories the Democrats are favored 68% to 18% over Republicans.

On outreach to voters the numbers remained steady for both parties, with 50% of voters saying that Republicans “don’t care too much” when asked if they were doing a good job of reaching out to Hispanics/Latinos, compared to 16% who felt they were doing a good job. For Democrats, the numbers were opposite, with 65% saying they felt Democrats were doing a good job vs. 22% who said they “don’t care too much.”

An additional new poll question addressed Latino voters’ attitudes towards education. When asked if they supported or opposed providing federal tax money in the form of vouchers to help pay for the cost of education, 42% said they opposed while 38% said they supported. In a separate question 21% listed education as a top issue, compared to 13% who listed healthcare, suggesting a possible area for Romney to outline his vision for education and build momentum among Latino voters.

“Romney’s stand on education could help him gain some traction with the Latino vote,” stated Monica Lozano, CEO of impreMedia. “Providing more school choice through such things as vouchers might provide Romney the opportunity to change his low favorability with Latino voters.”

*Note: the data in this week’s release was compiled before the first presidential debate last Wednesday.

Media Footnote: All References to the poll must be as follows: The impreMedia-Latino Decisions Tracking Poll. To view more data and information on this week’s poll visit:www.laopinion.com/section/voto.

Follow the impreMedia-Latino Decisions Tracking Poll results on twitter with #IMLDPOLLS

METHODOLOGY
This is the sixth release of an 11-week tracking poll of Latino registered voters. Each week impreMedia and Latino Decisions will release a new rolling cross- section of 300 completed interviews with Latino registered voters across all 50 states. Interviews are conducted in English or Spanish, at the preference of the respondent, all conducted by bilingual interviewers at Latino Decisions calling center, Pacific Market Research. The survey averaged 10 minutes in length, and has an overall margin of error of 5.6% on results that approach a 50/50 distribution. All respondents confirm that they are Hispanic or Latino and currently registered to vote.

This third wave of the survey was fielded Sept 28-Oct 4, 2012

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, www.contigola.com, and www.lavibra.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.