Latino Voters More Enthusiastic About Obama After Immigration Announcement, Poll Says

When President Obama announced the change in his immigration policy, granting immunity and work permits to some undocumented, young immigrants, many criticized the move as a political one. In an election year, said the naysayers, the president is pandering to an important electorate. Team Obama did of course deny an such ulterior motive, but the policy change looks to be working in their favor. According to a new poll, Latino voters are looking more enthusiastic about supporting the president.

Forty-nine percent of Latino voters surveyed in five battleground states said the move would make them more enthusiastic about Obama, “compared to 14 percent who were less enthusiastic, a net enthusiasm advantage of +35 points.”

The poll notes: “We should be clear that these two questions were not meant to gauge overall support levels for policy, but rather how policy statements on their own, could change a potential voters degree of enthusiasm for or against the President.”

In early 2012, a Latino/Univisions poll found 53 percent of Latino voters surveyed expressing less enthusiasm for the president, compared to 30 percent who said they were enthusiastic. When “asked what they thought about Obama’s deportation of 1.2 million immigrants, 41% of Latino voters said they were less enthusiastic about Obama, compared to 22% who were more enthusiastic, a net enthusiasm deficit of -19 points.”

The pollsters observe the “announcement on June 15 appears to have clearly erased Obama’s enthusiasm deficit among Latinos.”

(H/T TPM)

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