For U.S. Hispanics, Clinton First Choice for President in 2008; Several African-Americans Also Top of Mind

    /24-7PressRelease/ - MIAMI, FL, January 18, 2007 - Both Hispanic and non-Hispanic likely voters mentioned Hillary Clinton most when asked, impromptu, whom among public figures they would most like to see elected president in 2008, but the preferences of one population group did not closely mirror the other's further down the list. The findings are part of a survey conducted by Miami-based Encuesta Inc., an independent market research and opinion polling firm.

Some 6% of both Hispanics and non-Hispanics said they would want Barack Obama to be the next president. Among non-Hispanics, 4% would choose John McCain, while fewer than 1% of Hispanics named McCain as their choice.

In addition to Obama, Hispanic likely voters mentioned several other African-Americans, more than did non-Hispanics: Colin Powell (3%), Oprah Winfrey (3%), Condoleeza Rice (1%), and Alan Keyes (1%). Hispanics named by Hispanics included Antonio Villaraigosa and Bill Richardson, each mentioned by 1% of respondents.

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

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

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 would consider voting for that person. Of the Democrats, Hillary Clinton would most be considered by both Hispanics and non-Hispanics. Of the Republicans, Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice would be most considered by Hispanics and Colin Powell by non-Hispanics.


Willingness to Consider in the 2008 Presidential Election
Democrats
Definitely Would H%/NH%, Definitely Would or Might H%/NH%
Hillary Clinton 56 35 84 69
John Kerry 30 26 57 56
Al Gore 26 26 56 56
Barack Obama 15 31 36 61
John Edwards 10 26 51 65
Mark Warner 7 8 21 39
Joe Biden 5 15 28 44

Republicans
Definitely Would H/NH, Definitely Would or Might H/NH
Colin Powell 41 51 72 80
Condoleeza Rice 38 32 72 64
Rudy Giuliani 28 32 47 73
Jeb Bush 16 16 41 40
Newt Gingrich 16 12 41 35
Bill Frist 9 8 38 40
John McCain 6 28 34 65

(Q: I'm going to read you a list of people in the [Democratic/Republican] party who may run for president in 2008. For each, please tell me if you definitely would consider voting for that person, if you might consider voting for that person, or if you definitely would not consider voting for that person. Base: Among likely voters who said they would consider voting for a Democratic, Hispanic n=61, non-Hispanic n=156, and for a Republican candidate, Hispanic n=32, non-Hispanic n=119.)

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. The sample reflects the U.S. population with regard to gender, age, U.S. citizenship, and voter registration status. The margin of error is +/- 4%, 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. Results from these studies are made public to stimulate thought and dialogue about the U.S. Hispanic population and foster understanding of U.S. Hispanics. For more information please visit www.americanospoll.com.

Contact: Lourdes Prado, (305) 661-1492 x126, [email protected]

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