Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders More Popular Among Hispanic Republicans Than Donald Trump
Donald Trump has a less favorable image among Hispanic Republicans than either 2016 Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders.
A new Gallup Poll finds the Republican front-runner has a major image problem with Hispanics, with 60 percent of Latino GOP voters saying they have a negative view of him, compared to just 50 and 37 percent who see Clinton and Sanders in the same dim light, respectively.
Overall, 77 percent of Hispanic voters view Trump unfavorably, as opposed to just 12 percent who have a positive image of him, for a negative net rating of -65.
Trump's Image With Latinos Gets Worse?
Such ratings handicap Trump with by far the most unpopular rating of all the remaining GOP candidates in the eyes of Latinos, and the image they have of him appears to only be getting worse.
When the outspoken New York real estate mogul and political neophyte first announced his intention to seek the Oval Office last summer, he was viewed negatively by 66 percent of Hispanics. Almost immediately after announcing his candidacy, Trump attacked Mexican-Americans as drug traffickers and rapists and vowed to erect a massive wall along the Mexican border to keep out all immigrants.
The Gallup poll also reveals a staggering 89 percent of all Hispanics now know of Trump and have formed an opinion about him. By contrast, on average, remaining GOP candidates Ted Cruz and John Kasich have a net +13 rating among Latino Republicans.
As if those numbers weren't reason enough to be concerned, billionaire Democratic donor George Soros recently announced a multimillion dollar campaign to motivate Hispanic voters to turn out in large numbers against Trump, provided he officially emerges as the GOP's general election candidate.
Trump Could Face Latino Backlash
Several media outlets have reported droves of Hispanics now living in the U.S. have recently sought citizenship in order to vote against Trump.
Speculation is Trump may not even match the dismal 27 percent of Hispanic support Mitt Romney got in his 2012 failed run against President Obama. Gallup polling back then showed Romney's image among Latinos was much more favorable than Trump's is now.
Overall, both Clinton and Sanders have net positive ratings among Latinos. Clinton is viewed favorably by 59 percent of Hispanics, compared to 26 percent who view her unfavorably, while Sanders has ratings of 35 percent favorable and 16 percent unfavorable.
If elected, Clinton has already vowed to tackle the issue of immigration reform within the first 100 days of her administration. She has also pledged to go beyond the executive actions Obama has proposed that could free millions of immigrants from deportation proceedings.
"I will go further if it's at all legally possible," she said during a recent town hall discussion in Nevada. "I will make this a big political issue."