Florida
Latinos in Democrat Camp
Posted Nov 09, 2012 11:25 am | Public News Service
MIAMI, FL - While the nation waits for Florida's complete election results, there is already an indication that Latinos played a large role in the number of votes received by President Obama in the Sunshine State.
A survey released this week by impreMedia and Latino Decisions found that the economy remained the number one issue for Latino voters.Link: Latino Decisions 2012
University of Miami political scientist Casey
Klofstad says typically a down economy works against an
incumbent president, but Latinos still found more about
Obama's policies that they support.
"Despite that, Latinos in Florida think that the mixed
approach the president advocates on tax increases and
spending cuts is superior to Romney's approach of only
cutting spending."
The survey also indicated that Latino voters support
Obama's immigration policy and they believe he truly
cares about the Latino community.
Prior to recent years, the Republican Party considered
Florida Latinos a safe bet, but that's changed with
their shifting population. In this election, Latino
voters supported Obama over Romney 58 to 40 percent in
Florida.
Klofstad says the growing Puerto Rican population
along the Interstate 4 corridor had a big impact in
swinging the Florida vote.
"If the trend of their migration continues, and as long
as they remain as strongly Democratic as they are, that
could really be a sea change for Democratic candidates
down here in south Florida."
Latinos are also credited by the survey for Democratic
Senator Bill Nelson's victory.
Links and Photo added by the Observer
