What's up with Hispanics and Democrats?
Have you seen the media articles about Democrats fearing a lackluster Hispanic turnout in two weeks? I saw another one today:
Democrats are worried about Latino voters in the midterms, fearing that weak efforts to energize a core element of their base could imperil their bid to win control of Congress in next month's elections.
From the Sun Belt battlegrounds of Nevada and Arizona to sprawling turf wars in Texas and Florida, there are signs that the Hispanic vote – which party leaders have long hoped would be the foundation of future electoral success – has yet to flourish in their favor this year.
We will learn on election day, but let me say a couple of things about Texas:
We had an election down in South Texas, and the GOP won. No GOP candidate had won that state Senate district in 130-something years.
It is big majority-Hispanic district. What happened to the blue wave?
The blue team took the day off, or something like that, and a GOP Hispanic with a tough message on immigration won easily.
Was it an aberration or the canary in the mine? Keep your eyes on the other canary.
In May, the Democrat runoff had a historic low turnout: Democrats had their worst runoff turnout in almost a century!
How do you explain that runoff?
On election day 2016, I was invited to the local Telemundo channel to discuss the election. We were on through the night and provided commentary along the way. By midnight, it looked as though it was over for Mrs. Clinton, and the moderator asked for my explanation.
I told them that the Democrats needed a better message than simply "I hate Trump" or he is a "racista."
That was then, and this is now.
Today, the message is more complicated because Hispanics are enjoying a good economy.
We will see on election day, but I repeat: the Democrats need a message. Hating Trump goes over well in the leftist corners, but most Hispanics are not leftists.
PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.