July 3, 2025 Breaking News, Latest News, and Videos

Why Latinos Are Key As Democrats Plot 2016 Strategies:

For the last 20 years – ever since passage in 1994 of California’s abortive anti-illegal immigrant Proposition 187 – Democrats here and around the nation have increasingly depended on Latino votes.

Election results last fall showed what happens to Democrats when they somehow disconnect with Hispanics or take them for granted: they lose, or narrowly avert defeat.

Barack Obama knew he risked alienating this ever-more vital

voting bloc last fall, when he delayed his executive order exempting about 5 million undocumented immigrants from possible deportation until after the election. But several Democratic senators who knew they’d have close races in swing states had implored him to wait.

So he did and they all lost anyway. Meanwhile, Latinos, feeling they’d been betrayed and taken for granted, stayed home. There is some uncertainty whether Democratic incumbents would have done better or worse in states like Colorado and North Carolina, both places that Latino votes helped put in the Obama column in 2012, had he acted sooner. But no one also can be sure whether an earlier immigration order would have pushed even more non-Latinos to vote Republican.

But there is no doubt Latino voters stayed home in droves last year, not only in those states but also in California.

Democrats didn’t lose any congressional seats here last year, as they did in states like Nevada and Florida, both of which saw Latino turnout fall far below 2012 levels. But they came very close in several California districts with large Hispanic populations. Had Latinos turned out in larger numbers, people like Jim Costa, Scott Peters, Julia Brownley and Ami Bera never would have been threatened. As it was, they had to wait weeks after the election to learn they’d narrowly survived.

The lesson for Democrats was plain: They must do all they can to keep Latino enthusiasm for them high.

This means they must keep moving on immigration or at least force Republicans to take stands against giving illegals a pathway to citizenship, something Obama could not do on his own. Why? Because reliable polling shows about 65 percent of Latino registered voters (all of them U.S. citizens) say they know someone who is undocumented, an increase of 10 percent from three years ago. And because 40 percent of those same voters say they know someone who either now faces deportation or did before Obama’s order.

So Democrats are acting. They’re sponsoring comprehensive immigration reform bills in both houses of Congress even though they know nothing like that will pass. Doing this has already put Republicans on the record against change.

Democrats also named New Mexico Rep. Ben Ray Lujan as the head of their overall 2016 congressional campaign. Lujan, son of a New Mexico state House speaker and cousin to both a current New Mexico congresswoman and the eponymous onetime New Mexico congressman and secretary of the Interior, was reelected last year mostly because he carried a huge majority of the Latino vote in his district.

That’s a necessity for Democrats who want to avoid losses or a post-election month of nail biting. Only about 8 percent of the national electorate was Latino last fall, the worst showing for the ethnic group in 14 years and the first time in a generation its percentage of the vote has dropped. Latinos made up 10 percent of the national electorate in 2012, and about 14 percent in California.

There was no presidential race last year and voting turnout for all groups invariably drops in midterm elections, but this was still a remarkably low vote.

So Democrats next year will target Hispanic-oriented districts they lost this time, meaning Central Valley Republicans Jeff Denham and David Valadao can once again expect to be targeted. It hasn’t worked before, and neither voted for the House GOP’s bill aiming to kill Obama’s immigration order. Both know the growing Latino presence in their districts could endanger them.

But much depends on who draws the major party nominations for president. If Republicans tab former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a fluent Spanish speaker with a Latina wife and no anti-immigration rhetoric, the Democratic task gets tougher. But a Rand Paul or a Ted Cruz atop the GOP might be suicidal in an era when Latino votes have the influence displayed last year.

in News
<>Related Posts

(Video) A visit to New York Bagel & Deli in Santa Monica

July 3, 2025

July 3, 2025

Authentic NY Style Bagels with Extra Creamy Cream Cheese and Multi-Cultural Desserts. Located at 2216 Wilshire Blvd. A visit to...

(Video) Legacy, Reimagined: Architecture, Design & Construction by Home Front Build Los Angeles

July 2, 2025

July 2, 2025

Go To Homefrontbuild.com For More Information @home_front_build Legacy, Reimagined: Architecture, Design & Construction by Home Front Build Los Angeles. Go...

(Video) Gladstone’s Malibu Prepares for Reopening after Surviving Palisades Fires

July 2, 2025

July 2, 2025

With One Half of its Structure Slightly Charred and Undergoing Repairs, Gladstone’s Malibu is Reopening its Patio Space Just in...

Santa Monica Public Library Launches Community Mapping Survey

July 2, 2025

July 2, 2025

The initiative aims to shape the library’s programs and services to better meet community needs, fostering an inclusive and accessible...

Third Street Promenade Loses Bibibop Asian Grill

July 2, 2025

July 2, 2025

Bibibop opened at the Santa Monica location in 2017 after taking over a former ShopHouse space Bibibop Asian Grill, a...

Proposed Rebuilding Authority for Wildfire Recovery Sparks Local Control Debate

July 2, 2025

July 2, 2025

Plan Aims to Streamline Rebuilding but Raises Questions Over Community Input A proposed “Resilient Rebuilding Authority” to oversee recovery from...

Pentagon Orders Troop Drawdown in LA: 150 National Guard Members Reassigned to Wildfire Duty

July 2, 2025

July 2, 2025

Federal Forces Begin Partial Withdrawal From Protest Response as California Leaders Push Back U.S. Northern Command announced Tuesday that 150 National Guard...

(Video) ‘World’s Strongest Man’ Champion Pulls Big Blue Bus for 30 feet

July 1, 2025

July 1, 2025

World-class strongman Martins Licis pulled a 34,680‑pound, 35-feet long, battery electric bus through the Pier to set off Pier 360...

California Highway Patrol Deploys for Independence Day Enforcement Surge

July 1, 2025

July 1, 2025

All Available Officers to Hit California Highways for Holiday Weekend As Californians gear up for Fourth of July festivities, the...

Court Postpones Arraignment for Driver in Malibu Crash That Killed Four Students

July 1, 2025

July 1, 2025

Fraser Michael Bohm Faces Murder Charges in Fatal PCH Wreck  The arraignment for Fraser Michael Bohm, the 23-year-old man accused...

More Commercial Uses Could Be Coming to RAND Building

July 1, 2025

July 1, 2025

Amendment Unlocks New Opportunities, Secures $5.5 Million in Community Benefits The Santa Monica Planning Commission unanimously approved an amendment to...

People are Using Palisades for “Disaster Tours.” Local Officials Are Trying to Stop Them

July 1, 2025

July 1, 2025

A new motion introduced to City Council requests a coordinated strategy from LADOT, the Los Angeles Police Department, and the...

Santa Monica Favorite Esters Rebrands as Esters Wine Shop & Oyster Bar

June 30, 2025

June 30, 2025

New Concept Launches With French-Spanish Flair and Free Bubbles Esters Wine Shop, the fave Parisian-style wine bar in downtown Santa...

Letter to the Editor: Santa Monica’s Great Park: It’s Time to Deliver on 100 Years of Promise

June 30, 2025

June 30, 2025

Santa Monica stands at the edge of history. For nearly a century, residents have consistently supported turning the airport land...

Why Nordstrom Says It’s Closing Its Santa Monica Place Location

June 30, 2025

June 30, 2025

A Nordstrom spokesperson explained the closure as a strategic realignment Nordstrom confirmed its decision to close its Santa Monica store...