MIAMI – MAY 23, 2012 – According to the first national NBC News/WSJ/Telemundo poll, 61 percent of Latino registered voters consulted would cast their ballots for President Obama and 27 percent for Mitt Romney. The poll, the first in a series of surveys of Latino respondents to be produced by NBC News, The Wall Street Journal and Telemundo, also revealed a 61 percent approval rating for Barack Obama (compared with 48 percent of all Americans in the recently released NBC/WSJ poll).

The NBC News/WSJ/ Telemundo poll also shows that Latinos are more optimist than Americans in general, with 40 percent of respondents saying that the country is headed in the right direction (versus 33 percent of all Americans in the NBC/WSJ poll). Likewise, 54 percent approve of Obama’s handling of the economy (versus 43 percent overall) and 53 percent agree with the President’s management of foreign policy.

On the issue of gay marriage, 58 percent of respondents said it won’t make a difference on their vote. However, 16 percent are more likely to vote for President Obama and 10 percent for Mitt Romney based on their respective views on the subject.

When it comes to the ideal presidential candidate, 60 percent say they would vote for somebody who shares their personal views on issues while 34 percent would do it for a candidate with the right personal style and strong leadership qualities. Specifically, 52 percent would support a candidate who stands up for convictions and 42 percent would vote for one that seeks common ground. In that sense, 51 percent consider that President Obama has values they identify with. The challenge for Obama, however, will be turning out these voters with only a combined 68 percent of respondents saying they are highly interested in the upcoming election (compared with 81 percent of all American voters who expressed high interest in the NBC/WSJ poll).

Meanwhile, the poll shows Romney is struggling with Latinos. Just 26 percent view him positively, while 35 percent see him in a negative light. By comparison, Obama's positive/negative score among Latinos is 58/23 percent.

While a majority of Latinos shows a strong support for President Obama, 49 percent do not feel confident in the nation’s future and think the next generation will have a worse life than they do. Likewise, 52 percent consider that the country is experiencing a tough time and 40 percent actually think the nation is on the verge of a long term decline.

This NBC/WSJ/Telemundo national poll– part of the just-released NBC/WSJ poll -- was conducted May 16-21 of 300 adults who identified themselves as coming from a Latino or Spanish-speaking background. That sample includes 119 interviews that were conducted in Spanish. The overall margin of error for this survey is plus-minus 5.7 percentage points. The margin of error for the 188 registered Latino voters survey is plus-minus 7.2 percentage

Click here for a PDF of the first NBC News/WSJ/Telemundo poll.