A new poll shows good news for Hillary Clinton in the Sunshine State -- she is leading her opponent large margins with Hispanic voters, trouncing his numbers by 24 percent.
The TelOpinion survey conducted for the Associated Industries of Florida showed Clinton leading Trump 54-30 among Florida Hispanic voters, a number which may undoubtedly help Clinton in a state heavily populated by Hispanics.
POLITICO reported the poll results early Wednesday morning.
Clinton carries strong support among her core Democrat voters, who widely support her election for president. Seventy-five percent of Democrats are in favor of her while 13 percent are not. Trump, on the other hand, still carries strong support among Republican Hispanics, but not by the same numbers Clinton does.
Sixty-three percent of Republican Hispanics favor Trump. Notable is the number of undecided Hispanic Republican voters (14 percent) which is double the number of undecided Latino Democrats.
Most voters in all age groups support Clinton on the ballot. Younger voters tend to shift the heaviest towards Clinton, with 58 percent in the 18-34 age demographic supporting her. Clinton’s lead narrows slightly in voters over the age of 65, but she still leads 49-39 in that age group over Trump.
AIF noted it’s possible Trump will perform closer to former GOP nominee Mitt Romney’s numbers with Florida Hispanics in 2012 (around 40 percent) but there’s bad news for Trump, who is down 44 percent with non-Cuban Hispanics who make up half of the likely Hispanic electorate.
“Trump will not win Hispanics here in Florida,” AIF wrote. Other factors, the conservative-leaning group wrote, could be added to the mix which could make Florida more competitive for him, but the Hispanic electorate doesn’t seem to be one of them.
Hispanics represent a large minority voting bloc in Florida. In 2014, 14 percent of Florida’s 11 million registered voters identified as Hispanic. More than half of those surveyed in the poll came from the Miami/Fort Lauderdale region.
Florida is considered to be the nation’s top swing state. With 29 electoral votes, it’s virtually a must-win state for any presidential candidate hoping to land themselves in the Oval Office in January.
Clinton continues to lead Trump in Florida polls. Recent surveys have shown her lead over her Republican opponent growing after they sparred in their first presidential debate in New York last week.
The survey of 600 likely Hispanic voters was conducted Oct. 1-3 and has a margin of error of +/-4 percent. Over half of the survey was conducted in Spanish.
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
