HispanicBusiness

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Latino voters, staying true to form nationally in the presidential election, supported democratic presidential candidate John Kerry over President George W. Bush by a margin of 67.7% to 31.4%, an increase in support over the 2000 presidential election, according to a national exit survey conducted by the William C. Velasquez Institute (WCVI). For the 2000 presidential election, then Vice President Al Gore received between 62% and 68% support among Latinos, according to three different national exit surveys. Then-governor George W. Bush received between 29% and 37% Latino support from the same surveys.

"Nationally, Latinos continued their historic voting patterns, siding with the democratic challenger over the President by familiar margins, a little more than 2-to-1," said Antonio Gonzalez, president of the William C. Velasquez Institute (WCVI). "President Bush tried unsuccessfully to increase his support among Latinos. The democrats' message appears to have resonated with Latinos."

Looking at a select number of Congressional races around the country, the WCVI exit survey found that Latinos preferred democratic candidates over their republican counterparts by a margin of 67.5% to 30.3%, a significant sign of support for democratic Congressional candidates. The WCVI exit survey interviewed 1,021 respondents in 56 precincts across 14 states.

In determining the results for the presidential race, the WCVI exit survey interviewed 1,179 respondents in 56 precincts across 14 states on Election Day. The states where the exit surveys were conducted include Florida, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Nevada, California, Texas, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. These states represent over 90 percent of the national Latino vote.

About the William C. Velasquez Institute

Chartered in 1985, the William C. Velasquez Institute is a nonpartisan, non-profit, Latino-oriented research and policy think tank with offices in San Antonio, Texas and Los Angeles, California. For more information regarding WCVI, please visit our website at http://www.wcvi.org/. William C. Velasquez Institute

Web site: http://www.wcvi.org/