A new survey shows that politicians in both parties may be missing the mark when it comes to courting the state鈥檚 crucial Hispanic voting bloc which grew by 41 % over the last decade.
Lawmakers often talk about immigration reform as if it鈥檚 the top priority for Hispanic voters, but according to a poll from Colorado Latino Leadership, that鈥檚 not the case.
鈥淔or our survey respondents, their number one priority is education,鈥� says Mi Casa Resource Executive Director Christine Marquez-Hudson. She helped write and conduct the survey. 鈥淓ducation is the future for the Latino community. It鈥檚 also the area where Latino鈥檚 are not doing well. We have an incredibly high dropout rate. This is a real concern.鈥�
Jobs and the economy, followed by access to healthcare rounded out the top three issues. Immigration reform and support for a pathway to citizenship and the Dream Act was ranked fourth.
Marquez Hudson went on to say the goal of the survey is to make sure the Latino voice is heard in the presidential election.
鈥淚 think that it is important to note that Latino鈥檚 care about what all Americans care about. What is happening at the national level is an effort to separate Latino鈥檚 and I think this study shows that we have a lot more in common than we have different.鈥�
610 Hispanic voters responded to the statewide survey. While the vast majority said they were Democrats, the top issues of concern were the same across party affiliations. Respondents also overwhelmingly said they wanted more policy specifics from both presidential candidates, and end to partisan gridlock.
