The great majority of likely voters in as many as 20 swing congressional districts represented by the Republicans would support comprehensive immigration reform that includes offering a pathway to citizenship, a new poll released yesterday revealed. Around three quarters of those in the districts who responded to the survey supported the idea of allowing undocumented immigrants to earn US citizenship.
Republican pollster Jon Lerner and Basswood Research conducted the poll between November 2nd and 3rd, speaking to likely voters across 20 swing districts that are presently represented by Republicans within Congress, including Jeff Denham and David Valadao, two of the three Republican members who are themselves backing a bill for comprehensive immigration reform.
Ads are being run by pro-reform groups in a bid to persuade Republican members in a number of these districts to throw their support behind immigration reform, with separate ad campaigns being announced last week by the AFL-CIO labor federation and the Service Employees International Union to target Republicans that represent swing districts. There were some clear patterns in the survey, such as general disapproval of Democrats in Congress and President Barack Obama, but even more disapproval of Congressional Republicans.
Immigration advocates argue that both parties could be given a boost by acting on the immigration issue, with 70% of respondents believing it to be “very important” to have the matter dealt with and the great majority demonstrating clear support for the principles of reform such as a path to citizenship.