Merc mistakenly tries to stereotype Hispanic voters as liberals
In an odd article on the redistricting of county District 1, the Mercury News trots out an old, discredited notion that, when it comes to voting, demography is destiny, and that Hispanic voters are a liberal bloc. The latest data from around the country disproves the Merc's assertion, as Hispanic voters are increasingly diverse and conservative in their electoral choices. Data from various sources below.
From the Wall Street Journal:
The nation’s large and diverse group of Hispanic voters is showing signs of dividing its support between Democrats and Republicans more evenly than in recent elections, a new Wall Street Journal poll finds, a troubling development for the Democratic Party, which has long counted on outsize Hispanic support.
"One year after giving Democratic House candidates more than 60% of their vote, according to polls at the time, the Journal survey found that Hispanic voters are evenly split in their choice for Congress. Asked which party they would back if the election were today, 37% of Hispanic voters said they would support the Republican congressional candidate and 37% said they would favor the Democrat, with 22% undecided.”
From Gallup:
Gallup interviewed 1,338 Hispanic respondents in 2021, and the results show this group followed the same basic trends in party identification as noted nationally, although in a more muted fashion. Hispanic Americans' party identification shifted from a 32-point Democratic advantage from January through June (58% Democrat to 26% Republican) to a 28-point Democratic advantage from July through December (54% to 26%). This reflected a four-point decrease in Hispanic Americans' Democratic identification from the first half of the year to the second half; Republican identification was constant.
From the Washington Post:
“2020 was dubbed the year of the Republican women,” [Rep. Elise] Stefanik said, referring to Republican women flipping 11 Democratic-held seats. “I believe that 2022 will be dubbed the year of the most diverse Republican Party ever with a historic majority with women, veterans, Hispanic candidates, Asian American candidates, Black American candidates, all Republicans leading the way,” Stefanik said at the news conference.
Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Tex.), who represents the border town of El Paso, believes Democrats have not done enough to engage with Latino voters in a meaningful way for years, taking for granted safe, Democratic-leaning seats. “I think that’s been detrimental not to just expanding Democratic voter turnout but also saving our democracy,” she said.
Noting that some voters feel abandoned by the Democratic Party, Diaz-Balart said he knew it was time to pounce and grow the base.
“I think it’s important that this institution reflect the new reality. It’s not that Latinos have changed, it’s just that the Democratic Party first took them for granted, and [Latinos] are now running away from everything they believe,” [Rep. Mario] Diaz-Balart said.
Read the whole thing here.
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