President Barack Obama is even further ahead of GOP challenger Mitt Romney with Latino voters after the Supreme Court's ruling on Arizona immigration law SB 1070, according to a poll released Wednesday by Latino Decisions.
The poll found 70 percent of Latino voters support Obama, versus 22 percent who would choose Romney. The president leads Romney in nearly every poll of Hispanic voters, and this poll taken from July 7 to July 16 shows his support has increased by 11 points from other polling by Latino Decisions in November 2010.
Obama's lead with Spanish-language dominant Hispanics shows an even higher advantage over Romney, with Latino Decisions finding that 76 percent support the president over the 15 percent who support the Republican. Obama's lead among English-dominant speakers is 66 percent to 28 percent.
The increase in support for Obama comes after two major developments on immigration, an issue close to many Latino voters. On June 15, the Obama administration announced it would stop deporting some undocumented young people, which another Latino Decisions poll found boosted enthusiasm among Hispanic voters. On June 25, the Supreme Court blocked some provisions of SB 1070, a law a majority of Latinos oppose, after a lawsuit from the Justice Department under Obama.
Romney, meanwhile, has been evasive about his opinion on both issues. He has said he opposed the deportation policy shift and Supreme Court ruling, but has not said whether he would end the policy toward undocumented young people or whether he supports SB 1070. Romney, like other Republicans, has struggled with Latino voters, but is attempting to close that gap by increasing outreach and advertising directed at Spanish speakers, including a Spanish-language ad released on Wednesday.
The Latino Decisions poll was commissioned by pro-comprehensive immigration reform groups Center for American Progress and America's Voice; Latino Decisions is a non-partisan firm. More results from the poll will be released Thursday.