The historic Democratic takeover of the House of Representatives was fueled by voters of color, and in particular, Latinx voters, researchers have continued to find. The University of California Los Angeles’ Latino Policy and Politics Initiative (LPPI) tells NBC News correspondent and political scientist Stephen Nuño that among a number of states, “the largest growth in ballots cast occurred in majority Latino precincts.”
“In LPPI's eight-state analysis, 52 percent of the precincts identified as Latino precincts—where Latinos make up more than 75 percent of the actual voters—had a greater than 70 percent jump in ballots cast over 2014, compared to just a 36 percent jump for precincts that they identified as non-Latino,” Nuño continued, writing that Democrats ended up flipping 20 seats among these states.
Following the midterms last month, leading Democrats said that Latinx voter turnout surged nearly 175 percent in the 2018 midterm election compared to 2014, voting “for Democrats by a margin of nearly three to one.” With proper investments and an “all-hands-on-deck effort to reach young, Latino voters,” Indiana University’s Bernard Fraga told The Dallas Morning News that Latinx voters “could make Texas fully competitive” in 2020.
Of course, only if candidates and parties make the effort. “A recent Latino Decisions poll found more than 84% of Latinos say they are certain to or probably will vote in the 2018 midterm elections,” but “unfortunately, the same poll also found that fewer than half of Latinos surveyed reported being contacted by a candidate.”
Nuño: “Ben Monterosso, the executive director of Mi Familia Vota said, ‘In 2018 we launched a large-scale campaign to mobilize Latinos called USA Tu Poder,’ he said. ‘Our campaign is not a one-time effort; securing Latino voters in 2020 requires investing in our community now.’”