Yo Voté translates to “I voted” became the sticker that was wore by many Latinos after they headed to the polls. // Photo courtesy of sarachicad.
Latino candidates had a historical success in the 2022 midterm election with 68 who will be serving in Congress, according to the press release by the National Association of Latino Elected & Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund. Among those candidates is Democrat Maxwell Frost, who is Afro-Latino and has become the first member of Generation Z to be in Congress.
The state of Oregon has also voted Latinas into Congress for the first time with Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Democratic state lawmaker Andrea Salinas.
Hispanics have become a fast-growing population in the past years. Hispanics form 18% of the U.S. population, positioning them as the largest minority group in the country. Since 1970, when Hispanics have made up 5% of the U.S. population, the Hispanic population has grown more than sixfold, according to the Pew Research Center.
“People generally tend to have a higher level of interest in politics when they can look around and see people like them who have been elected to office,” said Rosana Perotti, a political science professor at Hofstra University. “For example, researchers have found that young women have a higher level of interest in politics when they can identify with women serving in policymaking positions. The more Latinos elected to office, the greater the likelihood that young Latinos develop an interest in political activity.”
Roughly 35 million Latinos were eligible to vote in this midterm election. Latinos made up about one-in-10 of the votes cast during this midterm election, hitting an all-time high, according to a study conducted by NALEO.
“For me personally, I think it’s notable to see this,” said Bryan Perez, a senior political science and public policy major. “For young people like ourselves, it’s not only inspiring, but it also motivates us to participate.”
Another change for the Latino community during this midterm election is that Latinos are leaning to vote Republican over Democrat. Latinos voting for Republicans have increased by 7% from past elections, while Democrats decreased by 6%, according to CNN’S exit polls. However, Democrats still hold their popularity among Latino voters with 60% of their votes, while Republicans hold 39%. The state that has significantly shown Latinos shifting towards Republican is Florida, where Republican governor Ron DeSantis won 58% of the Latino vote.
“Sure, we can point to trends in some regions of the country where Latino voters seem to be gravitating towards the Republican Party,” said Mario A. Murillo, vice dean of the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication. “However, if we are going to clump the national Latino vote into one demographic category, there is no doubt that we generally support the broader policy platforms of liberal and progressive candidates that call for improving public education, expanding child care for working families, strengthening our public health system, protecting women’s reproductive rights, etc.”
Even if Democrats have not lost their popularity by a big percentage among Latino voters, their support has decreased.
“One of the reasons why Democrats are losing the so-called Latino vote is because, too often, they make promises about these issues but fail to come through once in office at every level of government,” Murillo said. “The Latino community is very diverse and encompasses a range of cultural, racial, economic and historical backgrounds, experiences and traditions coming from different regions and contexts, making it almost nonsensical to try to group them into one voting block.”
Latino voters’ number one issue is abortion rights, followed by inflation, according to CNN.
“With higher Latino voting turnout, Latinos feel more empowered to speak for the issues that are important to them,” said Jessica Alvarez, a sophomore political science major. “This historical trend should not be overlooked as it foreshadows future Latino actions to improve the quality of life in the community, whether by running for office or voting.”
As more Latinos are being elected to policymaking positions and the Latino population increases, Perotti says that politicans should really pay attention to who is casting their ballots.
“Reaching out to this community, or to any community, really bears fruit,” she said.
Students believe that this election is just the beginning of an increase in the Latino vote.
“Latino people are here to stay, that’s without a doubt,” Perez said. “That was reflected in this midterm election.”
