Most would speculate that Marco Rubio‘s push for immigration reform would grant him favor with the nation’s Hispanic voters, but according to a recent poll of likely Hispanic voters in the 2016 election, Rubio is actually trailing likely Democratic nominee’s Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, but he fared better among potential GOP candidates.
Rubio, however, came out on top among Hispanic voters among potential GOP candidates in a potential primary race with 29 percent of the vote, followed by New Jersey governor Chris Christie with 14 percent, former Florida governor Jeb Bush with 13 percent, and former vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan with 11 percent.
Despite scoring favorably among the GOP hopefuls, “A plurality of those polled - 41 percent - said that the GOP’s support for an immigration bill would have no effect on their feelings toward the Republican party.” This is a significant number considering some feel Mitt Romney losing the Hispanic vote by a 71-27 margin is indicative the GOP needing to make great strides to appeal to the Latino population, and that immigration reform would accomplish that goal.
According to the poll, immigration reform is the top issue at 53%, yet it appears that if the GOP is going to appeal to Latino voters, they’re going to have to focus on more than just immigration.