Today Gallup released another poll illustrating that U.S. Sen. Barack Obama continues to hold a substantial lead over U.S. Sen. John McCain among Hispanic voters. The results are virtually unchanged from the previous poll released by Gallup of Hispanic voters. Obama holds a 30-point lead in the latest poll that shows a 59-29 split among Hispanic voters. One of the intriguing trends from the poll is that Obama is leading McCain among all demographic categories of Hispanic voters, including conservative Hispanics. I have stated before that these polls should be especially troubling for McCain because he has already begun his Spanish-language advertising campaign for several weeks, while Obama has yet to begin his outreach efforts.
The importance of the Hispanic electorate was thrust back into the spotlight last week as both presidential candidates addressed the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO). Obama and McCain sparred over the issue of immigration reform with Obama accurately pointing out that his position on immigration has been consistent while McCain continued to struggle explaining where he stands. NDN has cited repeatedly that McCain betrayed Hispanics and immigrants by abandoning his own immigration reform bill and walked away from the issue when his support was needed most. McCain continued his efforts to deceive voters during his speech at NALEO by stating that he would push for enforcement first legislation, and stating that he would support Comprehensive Immigration Reform. Those two issues are not the same and McCain know this very well. McCain had the opportunity to clarify his position on immigration to some of the most influential Latino leaders, and he failed to do so.
Obama and McCain will have several opportunities to continue this debate. The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) will hold its national conference next week in Washington, DC, and Obama will be addressing the organization. The following week the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) will hold its national conference in San Diego, CA, and both candidates will be addressing the organization. The spotlight on Hispanic issues will continue at least for the next couple of weeks.
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