Latinos Abandon Whitman, Affect Polling

Bloomberg is reporting that Latino voter erosion is affecting Republican Meg Whitman’s run for governor in California. She’s spent millions and millions of her own dollars on her campaign, but is currently down 42 to 48 percent to Democrat Jerry Brown.

Bloomberg reported:

“Whitman’s own polling showed she ‘took a hit,’ said spokesman Hector Barajas, one of six Hispanics in senior staff positions on her team. She trailed Brown by 20 points among Latinos, according to an Oct. 22 campaign memo. Surveys by Field Research Corp. and the Public Policy Institute of California showed her deficit last month was in the single digits.

Latinos account for 18 percent of likely voters, according to the institute. This season, they may be motivated by neighboring Arizona’s passage of an anti-immigration law, said Gary Jacobson, a political science professor at the University of California, San Diego. Before a court blocked the provision, the Tea Party-backed statute required police officers to determine the immigration status of people they questioned.”

Most Latino voters are Democrats in California, anyway, but the story suggests that Whitman’s flip-flopping on immigration issues, her dalliance with an undocumented maid and “callous” image contributed to her poor performance with potential Latino voters. More here.