by Salome Eguizabal
Bill Richardson
Washington Post-ABC News Democratic primary poll published Aug. 3 found Bill Richardson running fourth at 11 percent behind a deadlocked trio of Hillary 8Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards in Iowa.
In Nevada, according to a Latino Decisions/Pacific Market Research poll released July 31, Hispanic voters heavily favor Clinton, with Richardson, at 14 percent, a distant second, based on responses of 400 registered Latinos who say they intend to cast ballots in that state’s Jan. 19 primary.
Nearly 25 percent Hispanic in population, Nevada hosts the second Democratic Caucus nationwide after Iowa.
Nevada’s delegation includes 33 of the tentatively 4,362 voting delegates at the Democratic National Convention scheduled for August 2008 in Denver.
Clinton holds nearly four times the votes from self-identified Democrats and Democratic-leaners than New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and nine times those of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).
The state votes will be apportioned based on candidates’ support among registered voters.
The poll was conducted July 20-25. Its analysis concluded the Nevada Latino vote is more Democratic now than it was during the 2004 elections and is “growing considerably.” The pollsters projected that if the presidential election were held today, Latino voters would provide the margin of victory for a Democratic presidential candidate in Nevada.
Matt Barretto, senior researcher with Latino Decisions said the GOP results are still being analyzed. However, among Hispanics, Democrats hold the lead against Republicans in hypothetical match-ups.
Against former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, 66 percent of respondents chose Clluton while 17U/o chose Giuliani.When Giuliani was pitted against Obama, voters preferred Obama 51 percent over Giuliani’s 17 percent.
Latino voters identif ed the war in Iraq and immigration as the top issues: 73 percent strongly disapprove of the war in Iraq and 77 percent of those opposing it say they favor either immediate or the start of troop withdrawal.
More than half (59 percent) favor amnesty for undocumented immigrants currently in the country, while 26 percent favor some form of legalization.
The Nevada poll is the first of a series to be conducted in states where the Latino vote will play a significant role in the elections. The group is currently conducting research in California. Its primary is scheduled for Feb 5.
Hispanic Link.
