Clinton winning over Hispanics, new poll shows

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has increased her favorable rating among Hispanic voters by more than 12 points since May, from 41.6% to 53.8%, while also decreasing her unfavorable rating from 31% to 25.5%, according to a new poll.

On the other hand, Republican nominee, Donald Trump, continues to see his favorability rating sink, dropping four points since May, from 21.8% to 17.8%, while his unfavorable rating increased almost seven points from 60.8% to 67.6%, according to the poll by Florida Atlantic University Business and Economics Polling Initiative ( FAU BEPI) .

Even Republican Hispanics are losing faith in Trump, with a 47% unfavorable rating and only 42% favorable, according to the survey.

Overall, Clinton leads Trump nationally 66%-18% among Hispanics, a yawning 48-point gap which is nearly twice the margin she held in May. Trump has only 14% support among Hispanic women, the poll found.

Among Hispanic Democrats, Clinton leads 85% to 6%, while independents and others favor her 55% to 17%. Trump leads among Hispanic Republican voters 56% to 31%.

Monica Escaleras, director of the BEPI, said the poll revealed that Clinton was making significant inroads into previously undecided voters who appear to be turning away from Trump in droves.

“Clinton has taken some major strides to increase her support among Hispanics,” Escaleras said. “Her efforts to win over many who said they were undecided a couple of months ago are paying off, while Trump has actually seen his support drop by more than 5%.”

“Clinton's support with Hispanics is growing in our polling,” said Kevin Wagner, Ph.D., associate professor of political science at FAU and a research fellow of the Initiative. “That makes it increasingly difficult for Trump in battleground states such as Florida or Colorado where Hispanic voters may be the difference.”

The FAU poll results come only days after another Florida-based poll, New Latino Voice, found Trump in deep trouble with less 13% support among Latinos nationwide, even in Florida where a large Cuban American population has tended to favor Republicans.

Trump's low level of support in Florida could cost Trump the state and its 29 electoral votes, highly sought after in the race for the 270 electoral votes needed to win. "If the voter turnout rate of Hispanics is high here, Trump runs the risk of not winning," said Eduardo Gamarra, co-author of the New Latino Voice survey.

The electoral landscape in Florida remains uncertain. On the website Real Clear Politics, which calculates a daily average of poll results, Clinton this week took a slender lead over Trump, 44.7%-42%.

The FAU poll was conducted nationally July 1-31. The polling sample consisted of 500 Hispanics with a margin of error of +/- 4.33 percent and a 95 percent confidence level.

( Due to a boycott of Univision by the Trump campaign it was not possible to obtain comment from the Republican nominee for this story)