New Mexico Governor Race 2014 Polls: Susana Martinez's Lead Widens But Latino Support Lower Than Democratic Challenger
New Mexico Republican Gov. Susana Martinez faces re-election next Tuesday, and she could win despite not receiving most of the Latino vote.
The Albuquerque Journal released its polling data showing Martinez with an overall comfortable lead against Democratic challenger Gary King. With a 15 percent lead, Martinez received 53 percent compared to King's 38 percent. Nine percent of respondents were not sure.
"As we move closer to the election, we find that the governor continues to maintain a very comfortable lead in the race," Research & Polling Inc. President Brian Sanderoff said, via The Albuquerque Journal. "We're less than two weeks out from the election and Gary King is still below 40 percent, despite the Democratic Party's 47 percent share of statewide voter registration."
Martinez won the male and female vote. The Republican incumbent received 50 percent of the female vote and 57 percent from male voters. King received 38 percent of support from both female and male voters, each.
Martinez received more votes from white voters than King, with 59 percent to 32 percent, respectively. King, however, lead with Latinos. Despite being a Latino herself, Martinez had 10 percentage points less than King when The Albuquerque Journal identified Latino voters. King received 50 percent of the Latino vote in New Mexico, while 40 percent favored Martinez. Despite Martinez's percentage rate, Sanderoff noted the governor percent share is still high for a political candidate affiliated with the Republican Party.
The remaining 10 percent of Latino voters were undecided.
In Martinez's 2010 election, she received 38 percent of the Latino vote. Although the rate is not a majority figure, Latino Decisions' Gabriel Sanchez noted it's a "strong figure" for a Republican politician "in the current era where the GOP candidates across the country have lost ground with this electorate."
As expected, Martinez received support from most Republican voters, with 86 percent, but also gained support from 28 percent of Democrats. King's backing from Democratic survey respondents was at 63 percent while having 7 percent support from Republicans. Independent voters were more likely to vote for the Republican than the Democratic candidate. Martinez received 52 percent of the vote from independents compared to 32 percent toward King.
"The Republican strategy was clearly to pound Gary King from the very first day so that he doesn't build up momentum, so that the major Democratic Party and union contributors in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere would not invest in the race, if they could keep the race perceived as non competitive," Sanderoff said.
The Albuquerque Journal survey included 614 likely voters who have also voted in 2010 and 2012 general elections. The survey was conducted between Oct. 21 and Oct. 23.
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