Document Type
Article
Department
Political Science
Publication Date
6-2012
Abstract
The accelerated growth of the Latino population in the United States has made Latinos a coveted addition to each major political party's base. In this paper we examine the influence of ethnic concerns on the party identification of Latinos in the U.S. In contrast to previous studies, we account for Latinos’ perceptions of the political parties’ concern for their ethnic interests, allowing such interests to be self-defined. In a multinomial logit analysis of pooled data from three surveys of Latinos taken in 1999, 2004, and 2006, we find such perceptions do affect Latino partisanship, along with variables such as nativity and country of origin or ancestry. We also find a tendency toward independence among Latinos. Finally, we find movement toward the Democratic Party in 2004, once ethnic concerns are taken into account. One implication of the findings is that the party that can best persuade Latinos of their concern for their interests is the party most likely to gain their loyalties; indeed, the parties must earn those loyalties.
Comments
Author's post-print. This version is provided in the Trinity Digital Repository according to the publisher's distribution policies.
The published version is accessible at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0362331911001170
Diana Evans, Ana Belen Franco, James P. Wenzel, and Robert D. Wrinkle. “Ethnic Concerns and Latino Party Identification.” Social Science Journal 49, no. 2 (June 2012): 150-154.