Poll Says Latinos Concerned about Economy, Divided over President Bush and War in Iraq 1/8/2004
From: Margarita Studemeister, 202-452-8967; Barbara Beck, 215-569-3793; Sharon Gallagher, 215-569-4976; All of the Pew Hispanic Center WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 -- Latino support for the war in Iraq and for President George W. Bush has surged since the capture of Saddam Hussein, but Latinos remain concerned about the condition of the U.S. economy and the long-term consequences of the war. In order to probe Latino views of the war, the economy, and the upcoming presidential race, the Pew Hispanic Center (PHC) recently conducted two national surveys of Latino adults. One took place in December 2003, just before Hussein's capture, and the other in early January 2004. Comparing the two surveys reveals dramatic swings toward more positive views on the war. President Bush is the clear beneficiary with increased approval ratings and stronger support for his reelection bid. The shift in Latino views following Hussein's capture generally mirrors the trend in public opinion surveys of the general public, although Hispanics are somewhat less supportive of the war and of Bush-both as president and as a reelection candidate-than the population as a whole. The two PHC surveys show that most Latinos believe the economy should be a greater concern for Bush than the war on terrorism, and that a majority is concerned about personal finances. Latinos are evenly divided over whether they expect economic conditions nationally to improve. Full survey results are posted at: http://www.pewhispanic.org (click on "War Poll") The December and January PHC surveys each involved nationally representative samples of 500 Hispanic adults who could choose to be interviewed in English or Spanish. Both polls have a margin of error of four percentage points. Interviews were conducted Dec. 8 to 11 and Jan. 2 to 4. Fieldwork for both surveys was conducted by Bendixen & Associates, a public opinion research firm specializing in the Hispanic population. A Project of the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication |