A majority of U.S. Hispanics believe that political candidates are not talking about issues important to the Latino community, according to a poll released Sunday.
The survey was conducted for the National Council of La Raza, a civil rights group dedicated to promoting Hispanic issues that is holding its annual convention this weekend in Phoenix.
According to the poll, 58 percent of Hispanics feel candidates are not addressing their concerns. A third disagreed, while 8 percent were undecided.
La Raza president Raul Yzaguirre said both major political parties need to take Hispanic issues seriously.
“Showing up every four years may work for the Olympics, but not for governing,” Yzaguirre said.
Thirty-four percent of those surveyed said education ranks as the top issue for Latinos, followed by jobs, immigration, civil rights and health care.
The poll also found that four out of five Hispanics support giving illegal immigrants who have worked and paid taxes in the United States a chance at becoming citizens.
The poll conducted by Zogby International surveyed 1,000 Hispanics from across the nation May 25-27. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.