Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama is preferred by a nearly 3-1 margin over his Republican rival John McCain by Hispanic voters in the United States, according to a new survey Thursday reported by dpa. Obama beats McCain by 66 per cent to 23 per cent among registered Hispanic voters nationwide, the Pew Hispanic Center said. The support for Obama represents a wider shift towards the Democratic Party. The poll showed that 65 per cent of Latinos said they identified with Democrats and only 26 per cent with Republicans - the largest margin this decade - and compares with only a 21-per-cent gap in support as late as 2006. Obama had struggled to gain Hispanic support during his primary campaign for the Democratic nomination against Hillary Clinton.
