Democrat Profile of Hispanic Voters Wrong

Before the midterm elections, Democrats crowed that Hispanic voters would flock to the polls to deliver a blistering anti-Arizona-immigration-law thus anti-GOP statement, sending Republican candidates to defeat across the nation.

But, guess what? Democrats were off the mark. On Nov. 2, in record numbers, Hispanic voters helped elect Republicans.

A story by Lamar Smith in Saturdays Washington Post laid out the telling numbers: 38 percent of Hispanic voters cast ballots for House GOP candidates in 2010 which is more than the 30 percent in 2006 and the 29 percent in 2008.

In other prominent 2010 races, Hispanics cast ballots for the same Republican candidates most identified as taking a pro-enforcement or anti-amnesty position. Consider:

• 55 percent of Hispanic voters in Florida voted for Marco Rubio over Charlie Crist and Kendrick Meek (compared with 41 percent for the Republican Senate candidate in 2006);
• 50 percent voted for Rick Scott over Alex Sink for governor (compared with 49 percent voting for the Republican gubernatorial candidate in 2006);
• 38 percent voted for Rick Perry over Bill White for governor of Texas (up from 31 percent voting for Perry in 2006);
• 30 percent voted for Sharron Angle over Harry Reid in the Nevada Senate race (compared with 27 percent voting for the Republican candidate against Reid in 2004);
• 29 percent voted for Carly Fiorina over Barbara Boxer in the California Senate race (up from 23 percent for the Republican candidate against Boxer in 2004).
• 28 percent voted for Jan Brewer over Terry Goddard for governor of Arizona (compared with 26 percent voting for the Republican candidate in the 2006 governor's race).

Smith also quotes a Forbes magazine journalist, Shikha Dalmia, admitting that the 2010 election "casts severe doubts" on the assumption that Hispanics will necessarily be advocates for illegal immigration. Dalmia wrote, "Anti-immigration sentiment is driven by economic and other fears that have to be addressed anew for every generation regardless of its ethnic makeup."

Bottom line: Hispanics share the same fears, the same values as all other American workers.