Thread: Florida GOP voters hurt by economy, foreclosures

timesonline.com
Associated Press
Updated: 6:01 pm, Tue Jan 31, 2012.

Early results from an exit poll of voters in Florida's Republican presidential primary show the pain of the weak economy and divisions over what to do about illegal immigration.

More than 8 in 10 said Tuesday that they're either holding steady financially or falling behind. Half say home foreclosures are a major problem in their community, and around 6 in 10 consider the economy the issue that most mattered in choosing a candidate.

Nearly 4 in 10 voters say illegal immigrants should be allowed to apply for citizenship. The rest are about evenly divided between wanting to let them stay as temporary workers or deporting them to their home country.

Nearly 4 in 10 are over age 65. And around 7 in 10 consider themselves conservative.

Florida GOP voters hurt by economy, foreclosures - Timesonline.com: Politics:

newser.com
By ALAN FRAM and JENNIFER AGIESTA
Associated Press
20 minutes ago in

Republicans voting Tuesday in Florida's presidential primary expressed pain from their state's weak economy and housing foreclosure crisis and divisions over what to do about illegal immigration, according to early results from an exit poll of voters.

There was also a restlessness about their party's presidential field, with fewer than 6 in 10 saying they were satisfied with the candidates. Younger voters tended to be less pleased than older voters with the current crop of contenders.

Even so, around 4 in 10 voters said they'd chosen their candidates more than a month ago, a greater proportion than in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, the three states that have already held their GOP presidential contests this year.

Around 3 in 10 Florida voters said they were falling behind financially, more than in New Hampshire or South Carolina. The question wasn't asked of Iowa's voters. Nearly 6 in 10 said they are holding their own.

Half said home foreclosures are a major problem in their communities, reflecting the state's status as one of the hardest-hit in the nation by a glut of homeowners who have lost their mortgages.

Overall, 6 in 10 said Tuesday that the economy was the issue that mattered most in choosing a candidate. Around a quarter cited huge federal budget deficits.

In a state in which Census Bureau data shows that almost 1 in 4 residents are of Hispanic origin, more than a third of GOP voters Tuesday said illegal immigrants should be given a chance to become U.S. citizens. The rest were about evenly divided between saying those immigrants should be allowed to stay as temporary workers or should be shipped back to their home countries.

About 1 in 7 of those voting Tuesday were themselves Hispanic _ the first of the four states that have cast ballots so far in which the electorate wasn't virtually all white.

Underscoring Florida's reputation as a retirement haven, nearly 4 in 10 voters were over age 65, a higher share than in the three states that have already voted. Around 7 in 10 consider themselves conservative.

The survey of 1,979 voters Republican voters was conducted for The Associated Press and the television networks by Edison Research. This includes preliminary results among 1,379 voters interviewed Tuesday as they left their polling places at 40 randomly selected sites in Florida. In addition, 600 who voted early or absentee were interviewed by landline or cellular telephone from Jan. 23 to 29. The survey has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Exit poll of Florida GOP voters shows pain from economy, divisions over illegal immigration - 1/31/2012 5:31:10 PM | Newser