Hispanics Edge Back Toward Democrats After Years of Tilting to GOP, Poll Shows
Hispanics are returning to the Democratic Party after several years of drifting toward the Republicans, with many saying Bush administration policies have been harmful, a poll showed Thursday.
By 57 percent to 23 percent, more Hispanic registered voters say they favor Democrats than Republicans, according to a survey by the Pew Hispanic Center.
That 34 percentage-point Democratic edge which includes people who said they lean toward either party has grown since July 2006, when a Pew poll measured a 21-point difference. Then, 49 percent of registered Hispanic voters said they favored Democrats and 28 percent chose Republicans.
The survey found that among Hispanic registered voters:
- Forty-one percent said Bush administration policies have been harmful to Hispanics.
- Forty-one percent said Democrats do a better job of handling illegal immigration.
- Younger Hispanics are slightly more inclined than older ones to be Democrats.
- Those with higher incomes lean more toward the GOP than those with lower earnings.
Using September 2007 Census Bureau data and projecting from 2004 voting behavior, Pew estimated there would be 8.6 million Hispanic voters next year, 1 million more than in 2004.
The survey involved telephone interviews with 2,003 randomly chosen Hispanics conducted from Oct. 3 through Nov. 9. It had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points. It included 843 Hispanic registered voters, for whom the margin of sampling error was plus or minus 4 points.
