PPP SURVEY: LATINO PRESIDENTIAL VOTERS IN 4 SWING STATES FAVOR CLEAN AIR STANDARDS, CLEAN ENERGY POLICIES
Nevada, New Mexico, Florida and Virginia Presidential, Senate Races Seen As Ripe for Major Clean Air/Clean Energy Appeal to Latino Voters; Results Suggest Massive Dirty Energy Ad Campaign Is Not Swaying Key Electoral Group.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – October 8, 2012 – Latino voters in four swing states — Nevada, New Mexico, Florida and Virginia — decisively favor candidates for president and the U.S. Senate who support clean air and clean energy policies over candidates who don’t, according to four new state-specific surveys covering a total of 1,515 Latino respondents.
Conducted for the NRDC Action Fund, the four Public Policy Polling (PPP) polls of these key voters who could sway the overall Presidential election found:
- Nevada. Latino voters in Nevada side with President Barack Obama’s position as a candidate who “supports EPA standards to reduce dangerous carbon pollution” over the position of Republican challenger Mitt Romney, presented as a candidate who “says that these limits would be bad for business and EPA should not limit carbon pollution,” by a more than three-to-one margin (73 percent versus 21 percent).
- New Mexico. By a margin of 61 percent to 28 percent, Latino voters in New Mexico support a presidential candidate who backs “standards to reduce toxic mercury pollution from power plants” over one who opposes them.
- Florida. Latino voters in Florida are solidly behind (52-39 percent) a presidential candidate who backs increased incentives for wind and solar power.
- Virginia. By a more than two-to-one margin, Latino voters in Virginia support (61-29 percent) a presidential candidate who favors higher fuel efficiency standards for vehicles.
(Latino voters in the four states were asked about their views on a full range of issues; the results highlighted above are intended to demonstrate the range of responses across the four key 2012 election battleground states. For the full state-by-state survey results, go to http://nrdclive.wpengine.com/latinovoters.
Latino voters favor President Obama in Nevada (71-21 percent); New Mexico (58-26 percent and Virginia (57-42 percent). In Florida, the results were tied at 47-47. The balance of Latino voters in each were undecided.)
Tom Jensen, director of Public Policy Polling, said: “Latino voters in key swing states embrace the values of clean air and clean energy. This creates a real opening for President Obama to build on his lead among such voters in the battleground states and it poses a real challenge for Mitt Romney, who is already far behind with Latino voters. These findings suggest the ads attacking clean air rules and touting dirty energy that are filling the airwaves in these states are not fooling Latino voters.”
Ramirez Group President Andres Ramirez said: “With Latinos projected to vote in record numbers this November, the race is on to capture Latino support in key battleground states. But even as Gov. Romney scrambles to appeal to Latino voters, this new polling confirms that he couldn’t be more out of touch with Latinos when it comes to our energy future. While Latinos call for cleaner, safer and affordable energy, Mitt Romney wants to send us backwards in time, lining the pockets of wealthy oil corporations while sacrificing the health of Latinos.”
Adrianna Quintero, NRDC Action Fund, said: “Romney’s energy plan is nothing short of disastrous for our country and especially for Latinos. His proposals steamroll over health protections, rolling back life-saving standards that reduce mercury in our air and water, and cut down on harmful pollution that causes global warming. Romney’s plan to reverse landmark fuel efficiency standards would force us all to pay more at the pump hurting families that are already struggling.”
All four of the battleground states covered in the poll also have hotly contested Senate races.
- Nevada. By a large margin of 71 percent to 18 percent, Latino voters in Nevada support a congressional candidate who backs “standards to reduce toxic mercury pollution from power plants” over one who opposes them.
- New Mexico. Latino voters in New Mexico side with a congressional candidate who “supports EPA standards to reduce dangerous carbon pollution” over a candidate who “says that these limits would be bad for business and EPA should not limit carbon pollution,” by a more than two-to-one margin (66 percent versus 25 percent).
- Florida. Latino voters in Florida solidly support (52-42 percent) a congressional candidate who thinks “the federal government should invest in clean energy technologies such as wind and solar power” over a candidate who favors more drilling.
- Virginia. By a more than three-to-one margin, Latino voters in Virginia back (70-20 percent) a congressional candidate who “supports extending tax incentives for wind power, [over] one who opposes them.”
Full state-specific survey findings are online at http://nrdclive.wpengine.com/latinovoters.
The four PPP battleground state surveys were conducted in: Nevada (September 17-20, 2012, 300 Latino voters, margin of error of 5.6 percent); New Mexico (September 17-20, 2012, 715 Latino voters, margin of error of 3.6 percent); Florida (September 17-20, 2012, 300 Latino voters, margin of error of 5.6 percent); and Virginia (September 21-24, 2012, 200 Latino voters, margin of error of 6.9 percent);
CONTACT: Leslie Maloy, (703) 276-3256, or [email protected].
The NRDC Action Fund’s mission is to achieve the passage of legislation that jump-starts the clean energy economy, reduces pollution, and sustains vibrant communities for all Americans. Now is the time for leadership and action from our elected officials — our current goal is a comprehensive clean energy policy that will repower our economy and fuel our future. http://nrdclive.wpengine.com.
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