The Hispanic/Latino Factor

Compiled by David Pakman

          With the increased clamor about the importance of the Hispanic electorate, combined with the overall increase in Hispanic buying power in the United States, it's an interesting idea to look into the makeup of the Hispanic minority in the United States. First is Hispanic party affiliation:

          This confirms what the conventional wisdom is; that the Latino electorate is almost one-half registered Democrats, and the other half divided mostly between Republicans and Independents. More specifically, here is how the major three countries of origin for Hispanics in the US are affiliated:

          Puerto Ricans would be the most liberal cross-section, followed by Mexicans, while Cubans are more than 50% registered Republicans, which raises curiosity in many. My view on the reasoning behind this is simple. Cubans that have come to the United States from Cuba have strong dislike toward Castro. Since the Republican party has historically been much more unwilling to negotiate with Cuba about ending the embargo, and are seen as more "anti-Cuba/Castro" than the Democratic party, Cubans relate more with the Republican party.

          A couple of interesting notes on this are that the Republican support from Cubans has been eroding over the past 10 years, and Cubans in New York are far more liberal than those in Florida.

          In terms of annual income, this is how Hispanics are affiliated:

          Hispanics with incomes over $50,000 are 44% likely to be Republicans, and 57% likely to be either Democrats or Independents.

          Lastly in terms of party affiliation, here is the breakdown of Hispanics according to religion, and dominant language:

          What can we determine from this? In terms of religion, there is little difference in party affiliated based on religion, although those registered as independent are more likely to be neither Catholic, or born-again or evangelical. As far as language, those who speak Spanish as their dominant language are not more likely to be Republicans, which goes against conventional wisdom that those who don't speak English, or don't speak English well, vote Democratic.

          Since party affiliation is based on the issues, here is a breakdown of issue importance when voting:

          Contrary to popular belief, immigration did not score significantly high. Education is the most important issue for Hispanics, just ahead of the economy/jobs, and healthcare/medicare. A few issues we will look at specifically are taxes, the war in Iraq, and moral values (through gay marriage).

First, gay marriage:

          Overall, Latinos are significantly divided over the issue of gay marriage, with 45% favoring an amendment to ban gay marriage, and 48% opposing it. Matching the overall electoral, Latino Democrats are more in favor of gay marriage than Republicans.

          Next, the issue of the war in Iraq:

          On the issue of the war in Iraq, Latinos are split in terms of the decision made to go to war. Democrats overwhelmingly oppose the war, while Republicans even more overwhelmingly favor it, with Independents slightly in favor. On the separate issue of whether or not the Bush administration misled Americans regarding the war, Latinos are more united, with 54% believing they were misled, while only 39% thinking the opposite.

          How do Latinos feel overall about George W. Bush, related to the war in Iraq?

          Overall, Latinos disapprove of George W. Bush handling of the war in Iraq, but by a ratio similar to that of the overall American population. This includes both the handling of the war, as well as a plan for a successful conclusion, both overall, and according to party affiliation.

          The last specific issue we will look at is that of tax cuts:

          Overall, Latinos are evenly split on whether the 2001 tax cuts were good, bad, or indifferent to the economy. However, Democrats tend to believe they were bad or had no effect, while more Republicans believe they were good.

          Wrapping up now, let's look at the breakup of Hispanics according to country of origin, and current residence:

          Three of every five Latinos in the US are Mexican. Puerto Rican, Cuban, and South American follow, in that order. Looking at current residence, more than 75% live in the South and West parts of the country.

          Lastly, and maybe most interestingly, is the question of what immigrants must do in order to truly be a part of American society:

          While only slightly more than half of all Hispanics believe that being a US citizen is fundamental to being a part of American society, almost 80% agree that belief in the US constitution is essential. 65% - more than the portion of the country that votes, interestingly enough - believe that voting is elementary to being a part of American society.

Source: The information used in this feature is from a study conducted by the Pew Hispanic Center. Visit their website here for additional information about this report, including methodology.

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