impreMedia-Latino Decisions Weekly Tracking Poll Finds Independents Less Certain to Vote for Obama, Overall Enthusiasm Declines

Obama affected by unfavorable debate showing, but Republican support unchanged

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--impreMedia & Latino Decisions released the latest in a series of tracking polls today revealing that independent Latino voters have a less favorable opinion of Obama and the Democratic Party, but are only slightly more likely to vote for Romney than Latino voters in general. Overall enthusiasm among all likely voters dropped since the national conventions indicating the race may have turned more into a matter of turnout rather than candidate support.

“but his performance in the first debate has led to a new round of questioning by Latino voters especially among the independents.”

Support for President Obama among all voters slipped from 72% to 67% from last week to this suggesting that his poor debate performance also led Latino voters to re-think their support. Those who said they are certain to vote for Romney increased slightly from 20% last week to 23% this. 76% of all Latino likely voters said a candidate’s performance in the presidential debate was important in how they evaluated a candidate.

Two weeks ago, 93% of voters described themselves as “very enthusiastic” or “somewhat enthusiastic” about this election, but that number dropped to 81% in this week’s poll.

When asked if they thought Democrats were doing a good job of reaching out to Hispanics, 53% said yes compared to 65% a week ago, again suggesting the President’s debate performance impacted support for the Party as well.

“The convention and events right after had a very positive effect for President Obama,” said Monica Lozano, CEO of impreMedia, “but his performance in the first debate has led to a new round of questioning by Latino voters especially among the independents.”

According to data from the poll, 32% of registered Latino voters identify as Independent. 51%, say they are planning to vote for President Obama vs. 66% of all Latino voters, and 29% say they will vote for Romney vs. 23%. Only 28% of Independents say they have a VERY favorable view of President Obama vs. 46% of all Latino voters, but Romney’s favorability remains at 12% among all Latino voters as well as independent voters.

"The debate, and perhaps more importantly the press coverage after the debate, affected Latino voters like all others," stated Gary Segura of Latino Decisions. “Support for the president, and enthusiasm for turning out to vote, have both dropped measurably. This effect extends to his party. While the president still enjoys a considerable advantage over Governor Romney and the Republicans, it is clear that he and his campaign have serious work to do to recover the heights they reached in the post-convention bounce."

This week’s polling data also found that very few Latino elected officials have national name recognition, with a few exceptions. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Florida Senator Marco Rubio had respectable ratings, with 39% saying they had a very or somewhat favorable impression of Villaraigosa and 31% saying they had a very or somewhat favorable impression of Rubio. Other Latino politicians were relatively unknown. 41% had never heard of New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez, 53% had never heard of San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro despite his speaking at the Democratic Convention, and 50% had never heard of New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez.

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 eighth 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 Oct 5-Oct 11, 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.