Statewide Poll of Latino Voters in Texas Brings Upcoming Elections Into Clearer Focus

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Feb. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- A poll of 500 Hispanic Texas voters, completed on February 24th, reveals critical data regarding the concerns of the Latino community. The Latino Decisions Texas Poll is part of a larger effort to understand the Latino electorate, State by State, in those States where the Latino electorate will have a high impact on election results.

    Among the findings of the Texas poll were:

     *    Clinton holds a commanding lead over Obama among Latino registered
          voters in Texas.  Clinton was the choice of 62% of self-identified
          Democrats and Democratic-leaners, Obama had 22% while another 15%
          remain undecided.
     *    Both candidates, however, are viewed favorably by the entire
          electorate, with 76% of all respondents viewing Clinton somewhat or
          very favorably, while 66% view Obama somewhat or very favorably.
     *    Likely GOP nominee Senator John McCain is viewed favorably by 48% of
          all respondents, but unfavorably by 31%.
     *    In hypothetical head-to-head match-ups against Senator McCain, both
          Clinton and Obama do extremely well, though Senator Clinton's
          advantage persists.  Among all Latino voters without regard to
          partisanship, Clinton outpolls McCain 61% to 20% (19% undecided).
          Obama outpolls McCain 46% to 25% (29% undecided).
     *    President Bush is viewed unfavorably by 55% of the respondents, and
          favorably by only 34%.  Republicans in Congress have even less
          support at 28% favorability against 39% unfavorable.  Democrats in
          Congress are viewed favorably (somewhat or very) by 59%, with only
          17% viewing them unfavorably.
     *    Voting Issues -- when asked which issues would be most important in
          their presidential vote, Texas Latinos overwhelmingly identified the
          Economy (33%) and Health Care (29%) as the biggest factors with
          Immigration Reform (22%), the War in Iraq (21%) and Education (20%)
          rounding out the top 5.  When asked about issues specifically
          important to Latinos, Immigration Reform jumps to the top of the
          agenda (37%), with jobs and the economy (30%) in second.
     *    On the War, 69% report feeling that the War was "not worth
          fighting," while only 23% felt the effort was worth the costs.   The
          overwhelming policy preference was for immediate withdrawal (48%) or
          beginning withdrawal (33%), a total of 81% of the respondents
          favoring a significant policy shift.  Just 9% favor the current
          policy, while another 7% favor escalation.
     *    On Immigration, 31% favor amnesty for those currently in the
          country, while another 32% favor some form of earned legalization
          and a path to citizenship.   This total of 63% support for either
          amnesty or earned legalization is notable since the sample is
          entirely among US citizens registered to vote.  Only 26% favor a
          temporary guest worker program, and 6% favor declaring illegal
          immigrants felons and deporting them.

Latino Decisions' poll in Texas is one in a series of statewide polls that provide independent analysis on Latino opinions regarding policy issues. The polls focus on states in which the Latino vote plays a significant role in the 2007 and 2008 elections, and are intended to provide information for organizations and candidates to reach out to voters.

Latino Decisions will continue its research through the 2008 general elections. Reports from the Texas, Nevada, and California surveys are available now.

Latino Decisions is a joint effort of Pacific Market Research, Dr. Gary Segura, and Dr. Matt Barreto, both of whom are Senior Researchers at Latino Decisions and Professors at the University of Washington. Texas A&M University researchers collaborated on the Latino Decisions Texas poll.

For more information on the researchers, or about Latino Decisions, visit http://www.latinodecisions.com