A new poll, commissioned by Fox News Latino, suggests that whichever Republican candidate emerges as the presidential nominee has very little hope of capturing the Hispanic vote. Seventy-three percent of Latino voters say they approve of Obama's job performance, and in head-to-head match ups, none of the GOP contenders gets more than 14 percent support. That's a whopping lead. And remember, this is a Fox News poll.
The GOP's only sliver of hope: putting Marco Rubio on the ticket.
Four of five Latinos who voted for Obama in 2008 say they will likely vote for him again. More surprisingly, Hispanics who voted for McCain are now split on whether they'll vote Republican again. Forty percent of Latino McCain voters say they're leaning toward supporting Obama, compared to just 38 percent who say they'd vote for Romney.
Though Latino voters place the economy, education, and health care as issues more important than immigration, it's clear the GOP's stance on immigration is hurting Republicans' popularity among Hispanics. Ninety percent of poll participants say they favor the DREAM Act. Eighty-five percent support a path to citizenship for undocumented workers.
However, about one-third of respondents say they'd considering voting for the Republican ticket if it included a Hispanic running mate. Almost 25 percent say they'd consider voting Republican if Marco Rubio were the VP candidate. More importantly, four in ten Florida Hispanics say they'd consider it.
Of course, even with Rubio on the ticket, the GOP would still likely lose the Hispanic vote, but it's possible Republicans could do better than the 31 percent McCain captured in 2008.
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