Dem poll: Vulnerable House Republicans could face backlash over immigration

The group surveyed the districts of seven House Republicans facing potentially tough reelection battles and found that in each district, voters said they would be much less likely to vote for their congressman if he opposes immigration reform.

{mosads}In all seven districts, support for the Senate-passed immigration reform bill exceeded 60 percent, and, by double-digit margins, more said a vote against reform would make them less likely to support their congressman than more likely to.

The districts surveyed include five with high numbers of Hispanic voters, represented by Republican Reps. Jeff Denham (Calif.), Gary Miller (Calif.), David Valadao (Calif.), Mike Coffman (Colo.) and Joe Heck (Nev.). The other two included districts were of Reps. John Kline (R-Minn.) and Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.).

More than 40 percent of voters in each district said they would be less likely to support their congressman if he opposed comprehensive reform. In all districts but Heck’s, less than 30 percent said a vote against immigration reform would make them more likely to support their congressman.

The poll’s findings show there is risk for some House Republicans to block immigration reform. But the fact that PPP surveyed seven districts underscores how few House Republicans actually represent districts with large numbers of Hispanics — and how few are actually vulnerable to a general election challenge.