Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney says he’s closing in on President Barack Obama’s lead among Latino voters in swing states and still has a good chance at living in the White House.
Romney needs about 45 percent of the Latino vote in Florida to carry the state and keep a realistic shot at the White House. The Romney campaign has put 13 full time field staffers in Florida to focus on Latinos. Romney campaign offices have been closed in New Mexico and other states that now seem out of reach, according to a recent article in the Huffington Post.
Three polls released recently show Romney has narrowed Obama’s lead among Latino voters in Colorado, Florida and Nevada. In Florida, a Public Policy Polling survey from Sept. 23 found that 47 percent of Latinos back Romney, compared to 49 percent who said they’d vote for Obama.
Romney has claimed a third of the Hispanic electorate, according to a recent survey. Several polls say the race remains close with Latinos in Florida, Nevada, Colorado, Arizona, Ohio, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Virginia, Iowa and Missouri.
Long-term battleground state polling results are adjusted throughout the campaign season. The data includes a large population of Cuban Americans living in Florida that has historically supported Republican candidates. The Latino population in New Hampshire, Iowa and Missouri is still relatively small.
Across the country, 21 percent of Latino voters now say they will probably vote for Romney, compared with 24 percent a week ago. Romney’s immigration positions and his comments about the “47 percent of Americans who do not earn enough to pay federal income taxes” have deepened the believe that Romney can’t relate to ordinary Americans, including Latinos.
