Winning the Hispanic vote
Chris Palko, an assistant media analyst at Smart Media Group, provides this advice to Campaigns & Elections magazine. In part:
“…In the fall survey, which drew 1,500 participants from California, Texas, Florida, and the Southwest, the top-rated concern among all respondents was “our kids are not getting the quality education they need.” The education issue reached across ideological boundaries — 36 percent of Republicans, 36 percent of Democrats and 37 percent of swing voters named it as a top concern.
Immigration wasn’t even second on the list of concerns — two spending issues ranked below education. The second-rated concern: cuts to Medicare, which was a top concern for 35 percent of respondents. At the same time, respondents were also concerned about government spending. A third named it as a top concern.
Government spending – an issue where the GOP traditionally holds an edge — was even more a concern among Hispanic swing voters. Forty-two percent named it as a top concern, and the numbers were even higher among respondents from Texas and the Southwest – areas where Republicans picked up House seats in 2010.
The other issue that consistently ranked near the top was jobs — 33 percent of respondents ranked it as one of their top concerns. Everyone is concerned with having good jobs, but this is particularly a concern in the Southwest, where 39 percent of swing voters expressed concern over finding employment…”
Defying conventional wisdom, candidates who try to win Hispanic votes by talking about immigration may be barking up the wrong tree. On that issue, Hispanic voters care more about tone than position.
“…In total, 21 issues were provided to respondents in this survey, five of which related to immigration. The top immigration-related concern among all voters connects to the recent crackdowns in some GOP-led states. “More states are passing anti-Latino immigration laws like Arizona’s,” ranked 10th. That’s right, 10th.
The other four came in at 14th, 15th, 16th and 19th. And one of these concerns was ‘illegal immigration is out of control,’ which 17 percent said was one of their top concerns. Swing voters showed even less interest in immigration issues.”
Go here to chip in $10 or more to support Libertarian candidates.
Go here to learn more about running for office as a Libertarian.
Tweet or share this by clicking below.
