If the presidential election were today, Latino voters would support President Obama over his GOP opponent -- whomever that may be -- by a wide two-to-one margin, according to a new Univision/Latino Decisions poll.
Still, the poll suggests there's an opening for Republicans to make inroads with Latinos, a voting bloc that's increasing in importance. Latinos are still largely unfamiliar with the Republican candidates -- for instance, more than half said they don't know enough about Herman Cain to offer an opinion about him. Meanwhile, Latinos, like other Democratic constituencies, are less excited this year about supporting the president. Still, hardline anti-immigration rhetoric appears to be holding back Latino support for Republicans.
Mr. Obama tops Mitt Romney, Rick Perry and Herman Cain by two-to-one margins, according to the poll, conducted nationally from October 21 to November 1. Two polls were conducted, one of all registered voters and another of Latino registered voters, and the margin of error for both is 3.1 percent. The head-to-head match ups mirror the 2008 election, when Mr. Obama won two-thirds of the Latino vote.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry is the best-known Republican candidate among Latinos, but he also has the worst gap in his favorability ratings, with 42 percent saying they have an unfavorable opinion of him and 21 percent saying they have a favorable opinion. READ MORE
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