Newswise — An overwhelming majority of Hispanics say immigration is an important issue in the 2016 presidential race, and they’re throwing their support behind Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, according to the latest survey conducted by the Florida Atlantic University Business and Economics Polling Initiative (FAU BEPI) in the College of Business.
When asked how important the issue of immigration is in their decision on who to vote for as president, 60 percent ranked it as very important, while another 32 percent called it somewhat important – only 8 percent of respondents said the issue was not important at all.
More than 45 percent of those surveyed said they will vote in the Democratic primary, compared with 20 percent voting in the Republican primary, 22 percent undecided and 13 percent not voting in either primary.
Clinton topped the Democratic side of the survey, winning 65 percent of the vote, with Bernie Sanders taking 13.4 percent and Joe Biden 12.3 percent. Sanders fared strongest in the Midwest, where he trails Clinton 49 percent to 34 percent.
“Clinton’s weakness in other national polls has not been as pronounced among Hispanics in our survey,” said Kevin Wagner, Ph.D., associate professor of political science at FAU and a research fellow of the Initiative. “This may indicate that Clinton has a strong base of support among Hispanic voters.”
Trump has the support of 39.4 percent of Hispanics who plan to vote in the Republican primary, edging out Jeb Bush, who garnered 35.7 percent. Marco Rubio scored 5.6 percent; Ted Cruz with 5.1 percent; Scott Walker with 4 percent; Ben Carson with 3.6 percent and Rand Paul with 1.6 percent.
Women voted for Trump over Bush 41 percent to 32 percent, while men were split at 39 percent for each. Trump did particularly well among older Hispanics – ages 55 and over – with 29 percent, compared to Rubio at 20 percent, Bush at 15 percent and Cruz at 10 percent in this age group. Highest income earners supported Trump with 68 percent of the vote compared to 9 percent for Bush.
“At this stage, it is interesting to note that both Trump and Bush are well ahead of other candidates with Republican Hispanics in our sample, including Cuban-American Florida Senator Marco Rubio,” Wagner said.
The survey was conducted nationally from Aug. 1 through Aug. 31. The polling sample consisted of 500 Hispanics with a margin of error of +/- 4.33 percent and a 95 percent confidence level. For more information, visit BEPI or contact Monica Escaleras, Ph.D., director of BEPI, at 561-297-1312 or [email protected]. - FAU -
About FAU BEPI: The Florida Atlantic University Business and Economic Polling Initiative Conducts surveys on business, economic, political and social issues with a focus on Hispanic attitudes and opinions at regional, state and national levels via planned monthly national surveys. The initiative subscribes to the American Association of Public Opinion Research and is a resource for public and private organizations, academic research and media outlets. In addition, the initiative is designed to contribute to the educational mission of the University by providing students with valuable opportunities to enhance their educational experience by designing and carry out public opinion research.
About Florida Atlantic University: Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida. FAU’s world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU’s existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit www.fau.edu.
RSS