Clinton Increases Lead Among Hispanic Voters
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TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) - Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is the choice of nearly seven out of every 10 Hispanic voters nationally.
That's according to a new survey from the Florida Atlantic University Business and Economics Polling Initiative.
Clinton had the support of 66 percent of Hispanic voters, while Republican Donald Trump drew 18 percent, with 15 percent undecided.
The survey of 500 Hispanic voters across the nation was conducted July 1 to July 31 and has margin of error of 4.3 percentage points.
Clinton's margin over Trump, who has drawn opposition from Hispanics on his immigration stances, has substantially grown from a Florida Atlantic University survey in May that gave Clinton a 50 percent to 24.5 percent lead among Hispanics.
"Clinton's support with Hispanics is growing in our polling," said Kevin Wagner, an associate professor of political science at the university. "That makes it increasingly difficult for Trump in battleground states such as Florida or Colorado where Hispanic voters may be the difference."
Monica Escaleras, director of the Florida Atlantic University Business and Economics Polling Initiative, said while Clinton's support has grown, Trump's support dropped by 5 percent between the two surveys. Escaleras said Clinton's support is approaching Barack Obama's 2012 level, when Obama had a 71 percent to 27 percent edge among Hispanic voters over Republican Mitt Romney.
Clinton leads Trump among Hispanic Democrats by margin of 85 percent to 6 percent and has a 55-17 percent lead among independent Hispanic voters. Trump holds a 56-31 percent lead among Hispanic Republicans, a voting bloc that is more important in Florida than other states with large Hispanic populations.
However, the survey also showed even among Hispanic Republicans, 47 percent gave Trump an unfavorable rating, with 42 percent favorable. Among all Hispanic voters, Trump was viewed unfavorably by 68 percent, with 18 percent favorable. Clinton had a 54 percent favorability rating from Hispanic voters, versus a 25.5 percent unfavorable rating.
The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.