What the mid-term elections tell us about U.S. Latinos
In the days leading up to the mid-term elections, the Latino voting segment was the source of much conversation. The general question was “how will they vote, Democrat or Republican?” It could be said that this was the first time that Latinos’ role in campaign strategy became more prominent and had such a diverse outcome. The Latino vote hinged on the issues and the candidates running in each race.
Post election analysis showed that Latinos played a critical role in key races throughout the U.S. According to a New York Times Article, Latinos were not party aligned, as there was support for both Republicans and Democrats Voters elected the first Hispanic Republican woman governor of New Mexico, with Susan Martinez taking the office. Republican Brian Sandoval took the governor’s race in Nevada and Republican candidate Marco Rubio won in Florida’s U.S. Senate race.
On the other side of the fence, Latinos were instrumental in saving Democrat Harry Reid’s Senate position, and helping Democrat Senator Barbara Boxer of California and Democrat Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado in their victories.