Political Beliefs
US citizens of Cuban descent tend to be significantly more politically conservative than other Hispanic groups in the United States and form a major voting block for the Republican Party (GOP) in the state of Florida. Many Cuban Americans fled the island to escape the political and economic repression that they experienced under the Fidel Castro's communist government. As such, they tend to identify with the tough anti-communist stance of the Republican Party. In terms of its influence relative to the population of U.S. citizens of Cuban-American heritage, the Cuban-American lobby is the most powerful in U.S. foreign policy. Cubans differ starkly from most other Republicans, however, in that they generally support high levels of immigration.
In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 47% of the Cuban American vote in Florida. According to Bendixen's exit polls, 84% of Miami-Dade Cuban American voters 65 or older backed McCain, while 55% of those 29 or younger backed Obama. This indicates that the younger generation may be moving more towards the political center.
The failed Bay of Pigs invasion, and its association with John F. Kennedy, left many Cubans distrustful of the Democratic Party. Many Cuban Americans believe that Kennedy deliberately denied Cuban exiles air support, leading to a rout by Castro forces. The trauma of this event has led to speculation about possible Cuban-American involvement in the assassination of President Kennedy. Ronald Reagan, on the other hand, is particularly popular in the Cuban exile community (there is a street in Miami named for Reagan)..
The political alignment of Cuban Americans seemed to be changing by more supporting the Democratic Party than the Republican Party. Some cause of this is reported to be the decreasing average age of the Cuban American electorate with more younger Cuban Americans voting for the Democrats who didn't really experience the Cuba and US political history. They tend to be more Americanized and identify with the broader Hispanic and Latino Americans on other issues and not only about Cuba per se.
Read more about this topic: Cuban American
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