While Hispanics view 10 of the current Republican presidential contenders negatively and seven positively or neutral, Donald Trump had by far the lowest ranking, according to a new poll by Gallup, which also found that Hispanics view Democrat Hillary Clinton very favorably. Trump had a 65% unfavorable and 14% favorable rating, which equals a net negative of -51 among Hispanics, reported Gallup. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and former Gov. Rick Perry were next in the negative category, tied at a net negative -7.
On the plus side, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) had a net positve of +5 among Hispnaics and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) had a net positive +11.
Democrat Hillary Clinton earned a +40 favorable rating among Hispanics. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a self-described socialist, earned a net positive of +5 among Hispanics.
“Since then, 14% of the roughly 650 Hispanics interviewed have said they view Trump favorably, while 65% have viewed him unfavorably, yielding a net favorable score of -51,” Gallup stated.
Conversely, “Bush's average 34% favorable and 23% unfavorable ratings among Hispanics since July give him a +11 net favorable score -- the highest of any GOP candidate,” the poll analysis explained.
Outside of Trump and Bush, most Hispanics remain unfamiliar with the other 15 candidates currently in the running for president, Gallup noted.
“In terms of familiarity, only Trump and Bush are recognized by a majority of Hispanics,” Gallup said. “Eight in 10 have formed an opinion of Trump and about six in 10 of Bush. Familiarity dwindles to roughly 40% for Rubio and Cruz, both Cuban-Americans, as well as for Perry and Chris Christie, but drops well below that for all the others.”
As noted, for the Democrats Gallup found that Hillary Clinton received the highest rating by far at +40 percent favorable among Hispanics. Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.) came in a far second at +5 percent favorable, while former Sen. Jim Webb (Va.) trailed at +2 percent.
Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley was the only Democratic candidate to receive an unfavorable score at -2 percent.
For the survey, Gallup polled 2,183 Hispanic adults 18 years and older from all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia between July 8-Aug. 23. Each candidate was rated by a random subset of about 700 Hispanics during this time, Gallup noted. The poll included a margin of error of +/- 5 percent at a 95 percent confidence level.