New Poll Shows Hillary Clinton Beating Marco Rubio Among Latino Voters In 2016

FILE - In this April 2, 2013 file photo, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks in Washington. Clinton and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo are among a group of potential 2016 presidential candidates hailing from the same states, including: Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio, R- Fla., and perhaps Texas Gov. Rick Perry and freshman Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.(AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File) (AP)

It’s Hillary Clinton by a long shot in a poll of likely Latino voters asked to pick which candidate they best liked in a hypothetical group of 2016 presidential choices.

Clinton, who enjoyed solid Latino support when she ran to be the Democratic nominee in the 2008 primary election, was viewed favorably by 73 percent of those surveyed, and unfavorably by 17 percent.

Vice President Joseph Biden got the next highest positive rating, with 58 percent giving him a thumbs up and 21 percent a thumbs down.

The survey, by polling outfit Latino Decisions, showed that Latinos still prefer Democrats over Republicans.

That tilt toward Democrats grew sharp last year when 71 percent of Latino voters cast their ballots for the re-election of President Barack Obama over his Republican challenger, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who got just 27 percent of their vote.

Many Republicans called the lopsided support for Obama a cautionary tale, and concluded that the Republicans’ hard-line rhetoric on immigration alienated many Latinos. In several polls, including some by Fox News Latino, likely Latino voters said they felt that Republicans had addressed issues of concern to them with hostility and insensitivity.

The Latino Decisions poll, which surveyed 1,200 people, showed that even Republicans considered possible 2016 presidential candidates who have pushed for moderation when dealing with immigration lag well behind  Democrats.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, a Republican from Florida, had a 31-29 favorable rating. Half the people asked said they didn’t know Rubio, despite his high profile in immigration reform. Rubio was part of the Senate’s Gang of Eight, a bipartisan group that drafted a measure that tightens border security and provides a path to legal status for many of the nation’s 11 million undocumented immigrants.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush did less well, viewed unfavorably by 39 percent of respondents and 27 percent favorably.

To the question of how they would vote in a presidential contest between Clinton and Rubio, 66 percent chose Clinton, and 28 percent chose Rubio. Asked the same about a contest between Biden and Rubio, 60 percent said they’d pick Biden, and 28 percent said they’d want Rubio.

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