WASHINGTON _ Hillary Clinton continues to build her lead among Latino voters in Florida, according to a new poll that shows her growing strength among crucial Hispanic voters in four battleground states.
The former secretary of state has increased her advantage by 5 percentage points from 53 percent in September to 58 percent over Donald Trump in Florida, a crucial state that could tip the presidential election. Anthony Williams, special projects director at Miami-based Bendixen & Amandi International, noted that Trump, meanwhile, maintained the same level of support at 24 percent since their last poll in September.
Clinton is just shy of the 60 percent that President Barack Obama won in 2012, according to exit polls, which some see as a key threshold since he defeated Mitt Romney in Florida by just 1 percentage point. But Williams said Clinton likely benefited from the post recent controversy involving Trump's recorded comments about hitting on a married woman and grabbing a woman's private area. Trump also has not received the same support from Florida Latinos as Romney did.
"Late deciders are starting to break to the side of Secretary Clinton," Williams said Monday.
The Latino vote is poised to have a large impact on the 2016 presidential election. At 27.3 million registered voters, they now make up 12 percent of registered voters � nearly as large a percentage of the voting population as African-Americans, according to the Pew Research Center.
According to the new poll, which Bendixen & Armandi conducted with The Tarrance Group on behalf of Univision, Clinton holds an even greater lead over Trump in Arizona, Colorado and Nevada where she's ahead three to one.
The authors of the poll said Clinton benefited from a good performance in the first presidential debate on Sept. 26 and her radio and TV campaign in Spanish. Williams said she likely also benefited from a recent Newsweek report that showed that a company controlled by Trump violated the Cuban embargo in 1998 _ an important issue to Florida's large Cuban-American population.
Clinton is actually tied with Trump among Florida's Cuban Americans, who have traditionally voted for Republicans in presidential contests. Both candidates have the support of 41 percent of those voters, according to the new survey.
"Donald Trump is running out of time to improve his image and possibilities among Hispanic voters in the four studied swing states," the authors wrote.
Trump will face an uphill struggle if he tries to improve his image among Hispanic voters in the few weeks remaining in the race, they said. Nearly 60 percent of Florida respondents answered yes when asked if the Republican candidate is racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic. In Arizona, 68 percent said yes. In Colorado, 70 percent said yes; in Nevada 69 percent.
