Hispanic and Latino Americans in politics

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with the politics of Latin Americans.
Part of a series on
Latino Americans
Flag of the Hispanic peoples
National origin groups
History
Political movements
Organizations
Culture
Related national groups
Languages
Ethnic groups
Lists
  • Flag of the United States.svg United States portal
  • v
  • t

Latino Americans have received a growing share of the national vote in the United States due to their increasing population. They traditionally are and continue to be a key Democratic Party constituency.[1]

Overview[]

See also: Politics of the United States § Hispanic and Latino Americans

According to U.S. Census Bureau population estimates as of July 1, 2013, there are roughly 54 million Latinos living in the United States, representing approximately 17% of the U.S. total population, making people of Latino origin the nation's largest ethnic minority. In 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau indicated that Latinos are the fastest-growing minority group in the country.[2]

Supermajority support for Democratic candidates is a pattern among Latino voters.[3] In a December 2011 poll, 67% of Latinos said they were Democrats, and 20% said they were Republicans.[4] In the 2018 House of Representatives elections, 69% of Latinos voted Democratic, while 29% voted Republican.[5]

Latino vote in the 2016 presidential election[]

Hillary Clinton won 66% of Latino voters, according to updated National Election Pool exit poll data, a level of Democratic support similar to 2008, when 67% of Latinos backed Barack Obama.[6]

Trends in the South[]

While Latinos have long been a major factor in Texas, millions more have arrived there and in other Southern states in recent years.[7][8][9] Historian Raymond Mohl emphasizes the role of NAFTA in lowering trade barriers and facilitating large-scale population movements. He adds other factors such as the ongoing economic crisis in Mexico, more liberal immigration policies in the United States, labor recruitment, and smuggling that have produced a major flow of Mexican and Latin American migration to the Southeast.[10][11]

Republicans and Latino voters[]

Republicans have argued their party is a natural fit for Latinos because of the party's social conservatism and school choice proposals.[12]

Latinos are often skeptical of Republicans' harsh rhetoric on immigration and racism.

Former Congressman Lincoln Díaz-Balart (R-Florida) said, "If we become perceived as an anti-immigrant party, America, being a country of immigrants, will never allow us to be the majority party."[13]

Notable Latino politicians[]

Senators[]

There are 6 Latino Senators in the United States Senate, 4 Latino Democrats and 2 Latino Republicans.

Representatives[]

There are 41 Latino Representatives in the United States House of Representatives, 31 Latino Democrats and 10 Latino Republicans.

  • Antonio Delgado (Democrat), first person of Latin American descent to be elected to Congress from Upstate New York
  • Adriano Espaillat, (Democrat), first formerly undocumented immigrant to ever serve in Congress.
  • Raúl Grijalva (Democrat), dean of Arizona's Congressional Delegation
  • Brian Mast, (Republican) Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army, Rep. Mast lost both of his legs while serving as an explosive ordnance disposal technician in the U.S. Army in 2010. Awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Defense Meritorious Service Medal and Army Commendation Medal for actions in service.
  • Alex Mooney, (Republican), first Latino man elected to Congress from West Virginia
  • Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Democrat), Took office in 2019 at age 29 as the youngest woman ever to serve in the United States Congress, among the first female members of the Democratic Socialists of America elected to serve in Congress.
  • Raul Ruiz, (Democrat), first Latino to receive three graduate degrees from Harvard University- attending Harvard Medical School, the John F. Kennedy School of Government and Harvard School of Public Health.
  • Maria Elvira Salazar, (Republican), former journalist, recipient of five Emmy Awards for several reports on Nicaragua, Cuba and Dominican Republic.
  • Linda Sanchez, (Democrat) first woman of color ever to be elected to a leadership position in the history of the U.S. Congress
  • Ritchie Torres, (Democrat) first openly gay Afro Latino elected to Congress, one of the first two openly gay Black men elected to Congress.
  • Nydia Velázquez (Democrat), first Puerto Rican woman to serve in the United States Congress.

Latino political organizations[]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Munoz Jr, Carlos (2 November 2000). "The Latino challenge". BBC Website. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
  2. ^ "US Census Press Releases". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 2008-05-06. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
  3. ^ "The Latino vote in the 2016 presidential election". Pew Research Center's Hispanic Trends Project. 2016-10-11. Retrieved 2020-05-03.
  4. ^ Lopez, Mark Hugo; Gonzalez-Barrera, Ana; Motel, Seth (December 28, 2011). "As Deportations Rise to Record Levels, Most Latinos Oppose Obama's Policy". Pew Hispanic Center. Pew Research Center.
  5. ^ "Exit Polls". CNN. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  6. ^ Lopez, Mark (November 29, 2016). "Hillary Clinton won Latino vote but fell below 2012 support for Obama". Pew Hispanic Center. Pew Research Center.
  7. ^ Rebecca Mark and Robert C. Vaughan, The South (2004) p. 147
  8. ^ Cooper and Knotts, "Declining Dixie: Regional Identification in the Modern American South", p. 1084
  9. ^ Christopher A. Cooper and H. Gibbs Knotts, eds. The New Politics of North Carolina (2008)
  10. ^ Raymond A. Mohl, "Globalization, Latinization, and the Nuevo New South." Journal of American Ethnic History (2003) 22#4: 31-66. online
  11. ^ Jaycie Vos, et al. "Voices from the Southern Oral History Program: New Roots/Nuevas Raíces: Stories from Carolina del Norte." Southern Cultures 22.4 (2016): 31-49 online.
  12. ^ Wides-Munoz, Laura. "Jeb Bush Guides Republican Outreach to Latinos" Archived 2011-01-16 at the Wayback Machine CNSNews.com. Retrieved 2011-03-13
  13. ^ Mazzei, Patricia (January 14, 2011). "Lincoln Diaz-Balart: GOP can't win if perceived as anti-immigrant". Miami Herald. Retrieved March 19, 2011.
Retrieved from ""