Hispanic population soars in presidential swing states

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TheHill:

Hispanic populations are soaring in toss-up states that will decide the presidential election.

 

Changing demographics in states not usually associated with Hispanic voters has changed the traditional political calculus heading into Election Day.

 

 

President Obama and Mitt Romney, the presumed GOP nominee, are aware of the burgeoning Hispanic numbers and have ramped up their outreach in recent days.

 

Immigration, an emotionally-charged issue for many Hispanics, is likely to stay on the front burner in the weeks ahead as the Supreme Court is expected to rule soon on the controversial Arizona law requiring law enforcement officers to check the immigration status of people they stop.

 

Hispanic populations have grown by an average of 77 percent in nine presidential battlegrounds since 2000 according to census data.

 

States traditionally seen as dominated by white working class voters have seen Hispanic populations explode in recent years.

 

Pennsylvania’s Hispanic population grew 83 percent between 2000 and 2010; Iowa’s increased by 83.7 percent; Virginia’ increased 92 percent; North Carolina’s increased by 111 percent; Ohio’s increased by 63 percent; New Hampshire’s increased by 79 percent; and Iowa’s grew by 84 percent, according to U.S. Census data.

 

As a percentage of the total population, these Hispanic voting blocs are not proportionally equal to Nevada or Florida, but they are fast becoming more significant.

 

Clarissa Martinez-De-Castro, director of civic engagement and immigration at National Council of La Raza, noted that Hispanic voter participation exceeded the margin of Obama’s victory in Indiana and North Carolina, two traditional Republican strongholds, in 2008.

 

In Pennsylvania, Hispanics make up nearly 6 percent of the total population while in Virginia they are nearly 8 percent; in North Carolina it’s 8.4 percent; in Iowa, it’s 5 percent; in Ohio, it’s 3.1 percent in New Hampshire, nearly 3 percent.

 

“It will have a significant impact in a very close election,” said Manuel Pastor, professor of American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California.