Hispanic/Latino Participation and Key Issues
Most Cuban-Americans and Venezuelan-Americans tend to support the Republican Party, while Mexican-Americans, Puerto Ricans, Salvadoran-Americans, and Dominican-Americans tend to support the Democratic Party. As the latter groups are far more numerous (Mexican Americans alone are 64% of Hispanics), the Democratic Party is considered to be in a far stronger position among Hispanics overall. The U.S. Census indicates that the Hispanic population of the United States is the fastest growing minority group in the country.
More than 9% of eligible voters nationwide are Latino. The majority support for Democratic candidates continues a pattern among Hispanic voters. In a December 2011, 67% of Hispanics said they were Democrats, and 20% of Hispanics said they were Republicans.
In the 2010 midterm elections, 60% of Hispanics voted Democratic, while 38% voted Republican. In 2008, 67% of Hispanics voted for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, while 31% of Hispanics voted for Republican presidential candidate John McCain. In 2006, 69% of Latino voters supported Democratic candidates in congressional races, while 30% supported Republican candidates.
According to an October 2010 report by the Pew Hispanic Center, Hispanics rank education, jobs, and health care as their top three issues of concern. Immigration ranks as the fourth most important issue for all Latinos.
A 2012 study by the Center for Immigration Studies projected that in November 2012 Hispanics would comprise 17.2 percent of the total U.S. population, 15 percent of adults, 11.2 percent of adult citizens, and 8.9 percent of actual voters. By comparison, the report found that in 2012, non-Hispanic whites are expected to be 73.4 percent of the national vote and non-Hispanic blacks are expected to be 12.2 percent. The report noted that by weight "eight percentage points of the Hispanic vote nationally equals slightly less than one percentage point of the non-Hispanic white vote." The study also compared the 8.9 percent Hispanic share of voters to veterans (12 percent of the electorate), those with family incomes above $100,000 (18 percent), seniors 65 and older (19 percent), married persons (60 percent), and those who live in owner-occupied housing (80 percent).
In terms of voter turnout, the Center for Immigration Studies projected that 52.7 percent (± 0.6) of eligible Hispanics will vote in the 2012 election, an increase from 49.9 percent in 2008 and a continuation of the past decade's long upward trend. The projected Hispanic voter participation rate of 52.7 percent compares to 66.1 percent for non-Hispanic whites and 65.2 percent for non-Hispanic blacks in 2008.
Read more about this topic: Hispanic And Latino American Politics
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