What became evident in the 2012 presidential election and even more evident in this year’s midterms was the critical role the Hispanic vote plays in the Democrat coalition.
In President Obama’s reelection, Mitt Romney lost a critical percentage of Hispanics which helped make up a significant portion of the margin needed to push the president across the finish line.
By contrast, the both the lack of turnout among Hispanics this year and a fair number of those that switched to Republican underscored how necessary the voter bloc is to a winning Democrat strategy.
According to a Politico report, Obama’s recent Executive Order may have been calculated precisely with this reality in mind. Politico details that Obama’s support among Hispanic voters went from 67% in 2008 to 71% in 2012.
What’s more, the continued press for executive amnesty could push that number to 80% ahead of the 2016 elections, which threatens to put the White House entirely out of reach from the Republican Party.
Gary Segura, head of polling firm Latino Decisions, warned that continued Republican attacks on amnesty could play into Obama’s hands, “He’ll spend most of the last two years of his presidency defending Latinos and his executive action. He’ll look good, his party will look good, the opposition party will look bad.”
