In 2008 the Latino vote proved signficant in a number of electorally important swing states, especially states like New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado and Florida that have sizable Latino populations. However, other states with rapidly growing Latino populations, and divided evenly along partisan lines such as North Carolina, Virginia and Indiana, all witnessed Latino voters influencing the final election results. In 2010 Latino voters are poised to influence the electoral outcome for U.S. Senate in 11 or 12 states (depending on whether Texas sees a U.S. Senate election if Kay Bailey Hutchison runs and wins the Texas Gubernatorial election).
Based on dozens of assessments of the perceived competitiveness of the 2010 Senate elections, and the growth of the Latino electorate between 2004 and 2008, Latino voters are expected to play an important role in determining the outcome in each of the following states:
