July 10, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many people in the United States believe their fellow citizens are not prepared to embrace a Hispanic president, according to a poll by Princeton Survey Research Associates published in Newsweek. 48 per cent of respondents think the country is not ready to elect a Hispanic leader.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many people in the United States believe their fellow citizens are not prepared to embrace a Hispanic president, according to a poll by Princeton Survey Research Associates published in Newsweek. 48 per cent of respondents think the country is not ready to elect a Hispanic leader.

Conversely, at least 58 per cent of respondents think America is ready to elect a Mormon, an African-American or a woman president. In addition, 92 per cent of respondents say they would vote for an African-American presidential nominee, and more than 80 per cent feel the same way about a woman or a Hispanic. Support is lower for a Mormon, at 66 per cent.

The next presidential election is scheduled for November 2008. The Democratic Party's candidates include Illinois senator Barack Obama, the son of a white mother and a black father; New York senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is the only woman in the race; and New Mexico governor Bill Richardson, the son of a Mexican mother. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, a Mormon, is seeking the Republican Party's nomination.

Asked about how he is managing his Hispanic descent during the campaign, Richardson recently declared: "I'm not running as a Latino candidate. I'm running as an American governor who is enormously proud to be Latino."

Polling Data

Do you think America is ready to elect...

	Yes	No	Not sure
A Mormon president	66%	27%	7%
An African-American president	59%	30%	11%
A woman president	58%	32%	10%
A Hispanic president	39%	48%	13%

If your party nominated (the following) for president, would you vote for that person if (he or she) were qualified for the job?

	Yes	No	Not sure
An African-American president	92%	4%	4%
A woman president	86%	9%	5%
A Hispanic president	81%	14%	5%
A Mormon president	66%	27%	7%

Source: Princeton Survey Research Associates / Newsweek
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,001 American adults, conducted on Jul. 2 and Jul. 3, 2007. Margin of error is 4 per cent.