Photo: NJTVonline.org
With Tuesday’s November 5th election came some very interesting revelations about Latino voters. While they predictably voted overwhelmingly for the Democratic candidates in the Virginia state races, especially between gubernatorial candidates Republican Ken Cuccinelli and Democrat Terry McAuliffe, that was not the case in New Jersey.
Interestingly, Gov. Chris Christie received almost half of the Latino vote in New Jersey which is the bluest of the blue states and never before has a Republican candidate in that state received such high voting numbers from this population group.
But since Gov. Christie was elected governor four years ago, his popularity among those that traditionally vote Democratic such as Blacks, Latinos and union members, has increased. And herein is the interesting part of Tuesday’s election results and what that could mean for Republicans and Democrats capturing the Latino vote in the next two important elections in 2014 and 2016.
We hear from media pundits almost daily that the Republican Party is in such turmoil that capturing the support and votes of minority groups and independents is near impossible, never mind its narrow views on social issues, which they say contributes even more to this impossibility.
But wait, we just witnessed a remarkable outcome in New Jersey where Republican Gov. Chris Christie won handily with the help of minority and independent voters. This shows that not all Republican candidates are alike, thus it’s a disservice to paint them all with one brush.
While admittedly, the Republican Party may be going through its own metamorphosis, its not as if it’s the only party that has gone through such challenges – the Democratic Party has had it own share of troubles in years past and made a winning come back and so will the Republican Party.
It’s just that one political party seems to do more to capture the hearts and minds of minorities than the other. Yet, Chris Christie proved that all isn’t lost with minority voters which should worry Democrats that the days of taking the Latino vote for granted, for example, may be coming to an end.
There was no magic to Gov. Christie’s accomplishment on Tuesday. He won handily with minority voters especially Latinos because he paid attention to them in a respectful and meaningful way.
Latino voters are no different than any other voter in America… they want their freedom, they want to work and…..
To read full story: http://voxxi.com/2013/11/08/chris-christies-win-says-latino-voters/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_campaign=e46e127e79-Voxxi_Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b7208e432f-e46e127e79-62367565