A new Pew Research poll, released July 7, found that a surprising 24 percent of Hispanic registered voters support Donald Trump. Hillary Clinton is preferred by 66 percent among Hispanic registered voters. With Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson included, 58 percent  of Latino voters support Clinton, 20% support Trump and 13% back Johnson. The poll was conducted June 15-26, 2016 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.4 percent for the entire sample.

The surprising thing about 24 percent of Hispanic voters supporting Trump is that it’s the same level of Hispanic support received by the two last Republican presidential nominees, Mitt Romney — who polled at 21 percent — and Sen. John McCain  — 23 percent — before the 2012 and 2008 presidential elections:

At a somewhat later point in the campaign four years ago, Barack Obama’s lead over Mitt Romney among Hispanics was comparable to Clinton’s lead over Trump today (69%-21%). And in the summer of 2008, Obama led John McCain 66%-23% among Hispanic voters.

According to national exit polls conducted after the 2012 election, Obama garnered 71% of the Hispanic vote (27% voted for Romney).

It is shocking that Trump polls as high as McCain and Romney did, considering the things Trump has said that offend Hispanic voters. At the start of his official presidential campaign Trump said Mexican immigrants are “rapists” who are “bringing crime.” More recently Trump said Federal Judge Gonzalo Curiel could not be objective in a case involving Trump University because “he’s Mexican,” even though Curiel was born in Indiana. Then there is Trump’s promise to build a wall on the southern border.

According to Pew, Latinos have been consistently under represented in the electorate, only about half of all Latinos (49%) say they are “absolutely certain” they are registered to vote. That compares with 69% of blacks and 80% of whites. The Hispanic electorate is  projected to make up 12 percent of all eligible voters, a share equal to that of blacks among eligible voters. But voter turnout among Hispanics has long lagged that of other groups. But as we previously reported, The Donald’s political rhetoric about Mexicans has spawned the “Donald Trump wave,” an unprecedented get-out-the-vote effort among immigration advocates