Encuesta: For U.S. Hispanics, Clinton first choice for President in 2008

Posted by Elena del Valle on January 31, 2007

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton

Photo: Clintonsenate.gov

Miami, Florida – According to a survey conducted by Miami-based Encuesta Inc., prospective Hispanic and non-Hispanic voters mentioned Hillary Clinton most when asked, impromptu, whom they would most like to see elected President of the United States in 2008. The findings are part of a survey conducted by Miami-based Encuesta Inc., an independent market research and opinion polling firm.

Only 6 percent of respondents, Hispanics and non-Hispanics, said they would want Barack Obama to be the next president. Among non-Hispanics, 4 percent would choose John McCain, while less than 1 percent of Hispanics named McCain as their choice.

In addition to Obama, Hispanics mentioned several other African-Americans including Colin Powell (3 percent), Oprah Winfrey (3 percent) Condoleezza Rice (1 percent), and Alan Keyes (1 percent). Hispanics named by Hispanics included Antonio Villaraigosa and Bill Richardson, each mentioned by 1 percent of respondents.

The two other names most mentioned by Hispanics were John Kerry (2 percent) and Bill Clinton (2 percent). Among non-Hispanics, after Hillary Clinton, Obama, and McCain, the most mentioned public figures were John Kerry (3 percent), Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, and John Edwards (2 percent each).

A similar proportion of Hispanic (65 percent) and non-Hispanic (70 percent) respondents said they would consider voting for a Democratic candidate in the 2008 presidential election. Significantly fewer Hispanics than non-Hispanics would consider voting for a Republican candidate, 34 percent versus 53 percent.

Respondents who indicated they would consider voting for a Democratic or Republican candidate were read a list of possible candidates in each respective party and asked to indicate on a 3-point scale the extent to which they would consider voting for that person. Among democratic candidates, Hillary Clinton was most popular with Hispanics and non-Hispanics. Among Republicans, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice were the most popular.

The telephone survey was conducted by Encuesta, Inc. between October 11-30, 2006, among a representative national sample of 300 non-Hispanic and 300 Hispanic adults, in their choice of English or Spanish. According to Encuesta, the sample reflects the U.S. population with regard to gender, age, U.S. citizenship, and voter registration status. The margin of error is plus or minus 4 percent, with a higher margin of error for sub-groups.

The findings are part of a study of the Americanos Poll series that is sponsored by Encuesta, Inc. to compare the U.S. Hispanic and general populations across a range of topics.

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