A New Poll by New American Dimensions Finds that Only Half of Hispanic Immigrants Feel that the United States is Ready for an African American President

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton leads Illinois Senator Barack Obama 60% to 18% in California, 77% to 15% in New York, and 52% to 26% in Illinois, based on the results of a new poll conducted by New American Dimensions.

The poll was conducted on Saturday and Sunday, two days before three of the five largest Hispanic states hold primaries on Super Tuesday. Combined, these three states account for nearly 45% of all Hispanics.

Clinton performed much better with Hispanic immigrants than Hispanics born in the United States. She outpolled Obama 70% to 12% among immigrants compared to 53% to 27% among U.S. born Hispanics. Two-thirds of those interviewed were immigrants, reflective of the U.S. Hispanic voting age population.

Obama came in stronger among younger and more affluent Hispanics. 33% of those 18-34 indicated an Obama vote, compared to only 22% of those age 35-49 and 12% of those 50 and over. 21% of Hispanics with a household income over $50k indicated they planned to vote for the Illinois senator compared to only 14% of those with incomes less than that amount.

Among Republicans, 53% said they would vote for John McCain, well ahead of Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee who garnered a 15% and 7% share respectively, though only 8.6% or 121 of those polled were Republicans.

36% of total respondents rated the economy as the single most important issue facing the United States, followed by the war in Iraq (26%) and immigration (18%). There were significant differences on the immigration issue by generation. 21% of first generation immigrants rated it as the most important issue, compared to only 13% of second generation and 9% of third generation Hispanics.

Of total respondents, 76% agreed that the United States is ready for a woman president, yet only 56% agreed that the country is ready for an African American president. Though there were few differences between immigrants and non-immigrants regarding a woman president, there was disagreement on the issue of America's readiness for an African American president -- 69% of U.S. born respondents feel the country is ready compared to only 50% of the foreign born.

"There has been a lot in the press about Hispanic voters not supporting a black candidate," said David Morse, President of New American Dimensions. "While this may be true among some Hispanic immigrants, seven in ten U.S. born Hispanics feel we are ready for a black president. Clearly race is not what is driving their choice in this election."

The poll's margin of error is +/- 5 percentage points for 400 Hispanics in Illinois and 400 in New York; it is +/- 4 for 600 Hispanics in California. All interviewees are registered voters and indicated that they plan to vote in Tuesday's primary elections. Interviews were conducted in the respondent's language of choice, either Spanish or English.

About New American Dimensions, LLC

New American Dimensions is one of the nation's leading multicultural market research and consulting companies. Based in Los Angeles, California, the company serves Fortune 500 corporations, not-for-profits, and public institutions seeking greater market intelligence about the emerging multicultural American. It specializes in the Hispanic, African American, Asian American and LGBT segments.

For more information, please visit http://www.newamericandimensions.com