(The Hill) — While Latino voters are still more likely to vote for a Democrat, President Obama may have his work cut out for him in protecting this part of his core constituency against a surging Republican candidate, according to a poll released Thursday.

The Lake Research Partners poll found that 55 percent of Latinos rated Obama’s performance as “just fair” or “poor,” while only 43 percent rated it as “good” or “excellent.”

With this enthusiasm gap, the president could have a hard time duplicating the voter turnout that propelled him into the White House in 2008. Obama took 67 percent of the Latino vote that year, while Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) took only 31 percent.