Poll: Obama's standing with Hispanics drops

WASHINGTON, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- President Obama's standing with Hispanic voters has dropped sharply since he won a second term in 2012, a Gallup poll released Friday said.

The most recent tracking poll found that 52 percent of Hispanics said they approve of Obama's performance. While that is still 10 percentage points higher than the president's overall approval rating, it is down more than 20 points from his rating with Hispanic voters in late 2012.

Frank Newport, Gallup's editor-in-chief, suggested that Hispanics are disappointed with the president's failure to achieve significant immigration reform.

Obama's approval rating has been consistently higher with Hispanics, reflecting their ties to the Democratic Party. While 49 percent of Hispanics identify themselves as Democrats or leaning toward the party, only 22 percent identify as Republicans.

But the gap between Hispanics and the U.S. average has also shrunk. In late 2012, it was 23 points.

Gallup's report is based on monthly tracking polls. The margin of error is 3 points for monthly information on Hispanics.