Latino Decisions Blog

Category: State politics

New Poll: Political Power is Shifting Toward Young Latino Voters in California

The balance of power among Latino voters is tilting toward younger voters.  Every 30 seconds a Latino turns 18 years old and becomes eligible to vote. Indeed, the growth of…

Texas-Sized Opportunities, Part 3B

Is Texas a purple state now, and if not, how soon will it be? Continuing this series investigating the Lone Star State’s evolving partisanship, in this post I consider whether…

New Survey Finds Strong Support for Ethics Reform to Combat Political Corruption in New Mexico

Political corruption continues to be a major issue in New Mexico, making legislation to improve government accountability and transparency a major need as the state begins the 60- day legislative…

5th Circuit Rules Texas Voter ID Violates Voting Rights Act

Latino Decisions Principals Matt Barreto and Gabriel Sanchez authored an expert report in the Texas voter ID lawsuit which found that  4.7% of Whites lacked an ID, 8.4% of Blacks, and 11.4%…

New Findings in LD State of New Mexico Poll

The new State of New Mexico Poll conducted by Latino Decisions provides fresh data on the attitudes of registered voters in New Mexico regarding some of the most important policy issues…

On the Prospects of a Blue Arizona

This post summarizes a recent publication from the journal Politics of Groups and Identities, the full article can be read here. The Republican Party’s path to 270 Electoral Votes has…

Welcome to “The New Nevada”

The June 1st conclusion to the 78th Session of the Nevada Legislature brought to the end one of the most improbable and significant sessions in the state’s history. Improbable in…

Loretta Sanchez and the Growth of Latino Political Power in California

In the next few days, Democratic Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez is likely to announce her candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Barbara Boxer. This will widely be seen…

So Goes Colorado…

In a recent article in the Los Angeles Times Mark Barabak examined the importance of the Mountain West, particularly Colorado, to Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 victories. Echoing many of…

Where Did All the Latino Voters Go in 2014? The Case of Nevada

In 2004 John Judis and Ruy Teixeria wrote The Emerging Democratic Majority in which they argued that changing demographics were reshaping the country’s political geography in a manner that would…

Black-Brown Tensions in California’s 2016 Senate Race? Don’t Believe The Hype

Horserace analogies are frequently used to describe political campaigns. However, if a Latino Democrat emerges in the 2016 Senate race, a boxing metaphor is likely to be used. The anticipated…

Latino Influence & the Politics of Immigration in the 2014 U.S. Senate Elections

To date, much of the evidence suggestive of Latino electoral influence has focused on statewide races, particularly presidential elections in swing states such as Florida, Colorado, and Nevada. However, with…

Electoral Sweeps and Their Consequences: The Case of Nevada

Is it possible for a politician to be too successful at the ballot box? This appears to be the case with Nevada’s Republican Governor Brian Sandoval. Thanks to a favorable…