Friday, March 29, 2024

Why the Latino Vote Matters in Arizona

As the Arizona primary draws near, the four remaining GOP Presidential candidates gathered yesterday in Arizona for one final debate, where they were asked about the state’s tough crackdown on undocumented immigrants, a big issue for Latinos.

In 2004, George W. Bush was only able to get 40% of the Latino vote, and a January 2012 poll, Latino Decisions, conducted for Univision, found that 72% of Latinos said the GOP either does not care about their support or was hostile to their community.

“Conservatives have not realized how their tone and rhetoric has turned people,” said Jennifer Korn, who led George W. Bush’s Latino outreach effort in 2004.

Democrats believe that backlash from the Latino community, which is playing close attention to how the GOP Presidential candidates are addressing the issue of immigration, could turn Arizona into a swing state.

The Obama campaign will open its fourth field office in Arizona in a few weeks, in hopes of winning a state that no Democrat has won since Bill Clinton.

“There is a ripple effect that has the city and the county and the state of Arizona looking at the way they approach politics,” said Joseph Larios, state Democratic Party Community Organizer.

TIMES Magazine