Hispanic voters overwhelmingly disapprove of Donald Trump’s controversial comments on illegal immigration, according to a new Univision poll.
Seventy-nine percent of Hispanic voters polled find Trump’s comments offensive, and 71 percent hold an unfavorable view of Trump.
{mosads}While a majority of those polled say they don’t think Trump’s comments represent his party, Trump and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush trail Hillary Clinton badly among Hispanic voters.
Clinton would win 64 percent of Hispanic voters over Bush in a hypothetical matchup. That includes a five-point lead in Bush’s home state of Florida, a 42-point lead in Nevada, a 14-point lead in North Carolina and a 46-point lead in Colorado — all swing states.
She’d fare even better in a matchup against Trump, where she wins the Hispanic vote by a 70 to 16 percentage point margin.
The results raise questions about Trump’s recent declaration that he’d “win the Latino vote.”
They are also likely to make Republicans more nervous due to fear his rhetoric could hurt their party with the voting group.
GOP presidential candidates have seen their share of the growing demographic fall in recent elections.
President George W. Bush won 40 percent of the Hispanic vote in 2004, but in 2012 GOP candidate Mitt Romney won just 27 percent compared to President Obama’s 71 percent.
Only 18 percent of Hispanic voters identify as Republicans, according to the Univision poll, compared to 57 percent who identify as Democrats.
Bush is still the leading GOP vote-getter among Hispanics — 38 percent support him, while 22 percent back Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) and 12 percent support Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas).
The results come as Trump’s rhetoric continues to dominate the news cycle. He’s doubled down on comments from his presidential launch, where he said that many Mexican immigrants coming to America illegally are “rapists” and criminals. He rallied in Arizona last weekend with Maricopa Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who’s faced criticism over his treatment of undocumented immigrants.
Trump’s comments reportedly prompted Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus to ask him to tone down the rhetoric.
Most of the GOP field has criticized Trump’s remarks, and the Univision poll finds that just 14 percent of Hispanics believe that the comments reflect the feelings of the Republican Party, while 61 percent believe Trump is only speaking for himself.
Clinton also holds an astronomical lead over the rest of the Democratic field. Seventy-three percent of Hispanics would choose her in a Democratic primary, compared to just 3 percent that back Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and 1 percent who back former Gov. Martin O’Malley (D-Md.).
Univision and Trump have been feuding since Trump joined the GOP field. The Spanish-language network cut ties to the candidate after his remarks and decided not to televise the Miss Universe Pageant produced by Trump.
The GOP candidate has fiercely criticized the network, most recently arguing it is taking its marching orders from Mexico.