Florida Polls: Hispanic Support for Obama Down Sharply from 2008

In what could be signs of major trouble for President Barack Obama’s campaign in Florida, Mitt Romney leads President Barack Obama among Hispanics in Florida in one poll and trails by only seven points in another.

A Mason-Dixon poll conducted last week for the Tampa Bay Times had Romney leading among Hispanics in Florida by two points, 46%-44%. 

And according to an International University/Miami Herald/El Nuevo Herald poll released on Sunday, Obama leads Romney by only seven points among Florida’s Hispanics, 51%-44%. 

The mainstream media is trying to spin the terrible results for Obama by saying that if Cubans, who in Florida are more conservatives than other Hispanic voters, are removed from the sample, “Obama wins Florida Hispanics 64 percent to Romney’s 33 percent,” which is consistent with the national numbers.

What the mainstream media fails to mention is Obama won Hispanics by 15 points over John McCain in 2008 in Florida (57%-42%), which means Obama is significantly underperforming among the demographic this year. Obama won Florida by three points in 2008, and his 15-point edge over McCain among Hispanics can claim a good deal of credit for that victory. 

There is already less enthusiasm for Obama in 2012 than there was in 2008, which is why the President’s chances of winning Florida become significantly more difficult if his support among Hispanics continues to plummet.