For California Latinos, the top issues are jobs, the economy and the state's water crisis, and these could factor in their preferences among presidential candidates.

Latinos' Presidential Preferences

According to the Public Policy Institute of California's (PPIC) Statewide Survey, conducted between March 6 and March 15, Latinos favor former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., although he has a comfortable support rate. Among the nearly 132 Latino likely Democratic voters participating in the survey, 58 percent supported Clinton, while 35 percent went for Sanders. Nine percent of respondents said they favor another candidate, but 3 percent were undecided.

Although Clinton is leading, Sanders is still hoping to attract the California electorate. He recently hosted a rally in the state featuring actress Rosario Dawson, the co-founder of Voto Latino, a nonpartisan civic engagement organization that works to engage Latinos in politics.

In regards to the Republican presidential candidates, the data was unavailable for Latinos' preferred candidate. Overall, taking into account all ethnicities, 38 percent of likely Republican voters would cast their ballot for Donald Trump. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, placed second with 27 percent, ahead of Ohio Gov. John Kasich's 14 percent.

Taking into account all Latino respondents, 61 percent said they are satisfied with the candidate choices for the 2016 presidential election, compared to 38 percent who were not satisfied. Meanwhile, a narrow majority of 52 percent of white voters said they are not satisfied with the candidate choices, while 45 percent felt satisfied.

On the Issues

The Golden State's Latinos are mostly concerned about two issues: the combination of jobs and the economy (29 percent) and the water and drought crisis (28 percent). The third most important issue among Latinos was education (7 percent), including schools and teachers, just ahead of immigration and illegal immigration (6 percent). Rounding out the top five issues was "government in general" (4 percent).

California's Primary, Latino Vote

California's primary election, however, is still a few months away, set to take place on June 7 for both Democratic and Republican parties. In the GOP, California offers 172 delegates, and it could be a "winner take all" race for Trump. For Democrats, 474 delegates are at stake, although it's not a "winner take all" contest.

California is home to the largest Latino population in the U.S. Approximately 15 million live there, or 27.1 percent of all Latinos in the country. The Latino electorate is lower at 6.9 million, but it's still the largest Latino eligible voter population in the nation, ahead of the 4.8 million in Texas.

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For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.

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