The much talked about ‘Hispanic vote’, is really not ‘Hispanic’ at all. Yep, that elusive group that news shows, and politicians attempt to win over is not the ‘Hispanic vote’…and nor is it ‘Latino vote’ either. Nor is it the Chicano, Xicano, Latin, Mexican- American or any other term. In fact the ‘Hispanic vote’ is much broader than any one term can encompass.
So then what is it?
The ‘Hispanic Vote’ is in fact a broad swath of voters from a variety of backgrounds. There are Mexican-American voters (1st generation), Mexican-American voters (2nd generation), Honduran-American, Salvadoran-American, Venezuelan-American, Cuban-American, Chilean-American, and we can slice that population even further (such as Chilean-Canadian-American)… but you get the point.
Yes, the ‘Hispanic vote’ is complex, and the languages therein may also be confusing, although yes, the majority speak either English, Spanish, or both. But the similarity in language/s may go only so far. The goals, hopes, dreams of each individual ‘Hispanic voter’ population is in many ways unique and catering to a general ‘Hispanic voter’, is not a guaranteed outreach to each of these Hispanic populations.
For example, what may work in Florida, where there are many Hispanics of Cuban descent, may not work as well in California, where Latinos may at times call themselves Chicanos. But in Texas, please call them Hispanics, thank you very much.
It’s interesting because, many say people like Ted Cruz R-TX, or Marco Rubio R-FL could be future ‘Hispanic’ leaders of the Republican party. My comment on that is just because a candidate does well in one state with a large Hispanic population, doesn’t necessarily ‘translate’. Same for the Democratic party on….
To read full story: http://www.hispanic.com/hispanics-in-focus/item/390-is-there-a-“hispanic-voter”-and-how-can-i-get-one?