AUSTIN, Texas – A new survey shows that Hispanics, the nation’s largest minority group, have grown increasingly negative toward the Republican Party during the political battle over immigration reform and lean surprisingly liberal on social issues such as gay marriage – a combination of factors that presents a steep challenge for Republicans in trying to win back Hispanic voters.
More than 6 in 10 Hispanic respondents said they felt closer to the Democratic Party than they had in the past, while only 3 in 10 said they felt closer to the Republican Party. When Hispanics were asked to offer descriptions of the parties, 48 percent of the responses about the Republicans were negative associations such as “intolerant” and “out of touch,” while 22 percent of the responses for the Democrats were negative.
The outlook for Republicans has grown increasingly negative since 2004, when President George W. Bush won re-election with 44 percent of the Hispanic vote. The survey found that 56 percent of registered Hispanic voters identified with the Democrats, while 19 percent said they identified with Republicans and 19 percent as independents.
Conservatives often have claimed that Hispanics are a natural constituency for the Republican Party because they care about what the party considers family values.
This holds true on abortion, with 52 percent saying abortion should be illegal in all or most cases, and 47 percent saying it should be legal. But on gay marriage, 55 percent of Hispanics favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry, compared with 43 percent who are opposed.
And Hispanics in the poll said they were far more likely to vote for candidates based on their stances on immigration than on their stance on abortion or gay marriage.
The parties’ handling of immigration has been a major factor swaying Hispanics’ allegiances. In the survey, 42 percent of Hispanics said Democrats were better able to deal with immigration, while 16 percent said Republicans would do better.
The Public Religion Research Institute poll was conducted between Aug. 23 and Sept. 3 with 1,563 Hispanic adults, citizens and noncitizens, with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
