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Nov 8, 2012
Posted by Chuck Rocha
The Latino vote was the single most important
factor in the 2012 election. Latinos almost
single-handedly delivered President Obama a
second term, ensuring victories in both the
popular vote and the Electoral College. Latinos
were an important factor in races all across
America, from Colorado to Nevada, and from
Florida to Virginia. Latinos delivered a record
turnout, dramatically increasing their
participation from 2008. National polls
revealed that an overwhelming 71% of Latinos
voted for the President.
A closer look
into battleground states reveals numbers that
are even more striking. In Colorado, the Latino
vote favored Obama by 90%. In Florida, while
most political pundits had already given the
state to Romney, the non-Cuban Latino vote is a
major reason Obama may pull out the victory (He
is currently 50,000 votes ahead).
The
Latino vote and voice was seen and heard from
every corner of the country. As a result, the
Latino community will have more representation
in Congress. Overall, 30 Latinos won their
races for the U.S. House
of Representatives. Given the
additional 3 Latinos who will be in the Senate,
the total number of Latinos that will be in the
113th Congress is 33 - an encouraging (and
growing) number.
In addition to
its growth, it is also clear that the Latino
vote is becoming much more progressive. Two
glaring examples in Tuesday's election include
congressional races in Texas' 23rd and
Florida's 26th Congressional Districts.
I am from Texas, and a proud ''Mexican
Redneck.'' There are many other Latinos in
Texas who relate to politics through the eyes
of their community and the values they learned
growing up in the Lone Star State. In Texas’
23rd Congressional District - one of the
largest Congressional District in the United
States, spanning from San Antonio to El Paso -
there were two Mexican-American Latinos running
against each other who could not be more
different. The Republican incumbent, Quico
Canseco, was a representative who had spent his
time in office towing the Republican party line
- supporting Arizona-style immigration reform,
supporting anti-union policies, and attempting
to privatize social security. His Democratic
challenger on the other hand, Pete Gallego,
supported a path to citizenship for immigrants,
had a 100% positive labor voting record, and is
pro-environment. Latinos - who represent 70% of
the district - took notice of the contrasts,
and Pete won this race by over 9,500
votes.
In the ''Rumba'' part of the
country - Miami - a similar story played out.
There were two Cuban-Americans running against
each other in a heavily Latino district. The
Republican incumbent, David Rivera, was also a
party loyalist on immigration, social
security and labor. Meanwhile, his Democratic
challenger, Joe Garcia, is an outspoken labor
leader, progressive on immigration issues, and
committed to protecting social security. Joe
won this election based on these values – again
demonstrating the growing progressiveness of
the Latino vote.
Whether ''Redneck'' or
''Rumba,'' Latinos are different across the
country. Nevertheless, we share many values,
beliefs and customs. Many of our political
positions are based on how we were raised and
the community we represent. We are proud of our
culture, and we demand respect from our elected
Representatives. As the demographics of the
country continue to shift, the Latino vote will
continue to grow, becoming a larger and more
important part of the electorate.
It is
time for elected officials to recognize this
reality - and work to pass public policies that
are not only good for Latinos, but for all
minorities as well. At the end of the day, it
does not matter who you are, for we are all
Americans - and we deserve a government that
resembles and represents the values of the
people who elect it.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Center for National Policy.
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