The impact of the Latino vote in the 2010 Midterm Elections made a major difference in the outcome of numerous Senatorial and Gubernatorial races across the country. In states like California, Colorado, Florida and Nevada, the Latino vote made the critical difference in the outcome of several candidates’ close races, demonstrating the importance of the Latino vote to Republican and Democrat candidates alike. The following are some of the key observations regarding outcomes determined by the Latino vote in 2010.

Latinos Delivered California Democratic Candidates Back to Office

LATINO VOTE FOR CA GOVERNOR
Jerry Brown: 86%
Meg Whitman: 13%
Latino share of voters: 18%
Latino contribution to Brown: +13.1

LATINO VOTE FOR CA SENATE
Barbara Boxer: 86%
Carly Fiorina: 14%
Latino share of voters: 18%
Latino contribution to Boxer: +10.1

Source: Latino Decisions Nevada election eve poll. Poll was co-sponsored with the National Council of La Raza, SEIU, and America’s Voice.

Latinos Voters Saved Harry Reid in Nevada

LATINO VOTE FOR NV SENATE
Harry Reid: 90%
Sharron Angle: 8%
Latino share of voters: 12%.
Latino contribution to Reid: +9.8

According to the Washington Post, 50% of Latino voters took advantage of early voting opportunities in Nevada. This represents a 13% increase since the last midterm election. One quarter of Nevadans are Latino, many are children, too young to vote, or immigrants who have yet to become citizens. 12% of all of the registered voters in Nevada are Latino. And yet Latinos made up 16% of voters taking part in this election. In other words, Latinos rejected Sharon Angle’s racist ads, showed up in record numbers, and outperformed other voters when it counted.

Sharon Angle did herself no favors with Latinos. Reid’s turnout efforts focused strongly on the Hispanic community, a key swing demographic in Nevada elections. Early polling suggested Hispanics wouldn’t turn out because of frustration with the economy and a lack of movement on immigration reform. A Republican operative even aired an ad explicitly telling Hispanics not to vote.

That, coupled with Angle’s inflammatory ads using images of Hispanic youth dressed as gang members drove some Hispanic voters to the polls.

“That was the final straw,” said Gilberto Ramirez, a Reno concrete worker who recently obtained his citizenship and voted for the first time. He told the Las Vegas Review-Journal “Sharon Angle was depicting me as a gang member. I served seven years in the Marine Corps.”

Latino Voters Preserved Incumbent Democrats In Colorado

LATINO VOTE FOR COLORADO SENATE
Michael Bennet: 81%
Ken Buck: 19%
Latino share of voters: 10%
Latino contribution to Bennett: +6.2

LATINO VOTE FOR COLORADO GOVERNOR
John Hickenlooper: 77%
Dan Maes: 9%
Tom Tancredo: 14%
Latino share of voters: 10%
Latino contribution to Hickenlooper: +6.3

New Republican Candidates Elected are Increasingly Latino and Helping to Diversify the Party

Many of the Republican parties’ leading new lights are Latino, and are helping to diversify the party. Among the newly-elected Republican candidates in 2010 were:

Brian Sandoval (elected as the first Latino governor of Nevada)
Marco Rubio (elected to the Senate in Florida)

OTHER “LATINO SWING STATES” RESULTS

FLORIDA
LATINO VOTE FOR SENATE
Kendrick Meek: 20%
Marco Rubio: 62%
Charlie Crist: 18%
Latino share of voters: 16%
Latino contribution to Rubio: +6.7

Note: Senate vote by origin:
Cuban Latinos: 78% Rubio
non-Cuban Latinos: 40% Rubio

LATINO VOTE FOR GOVERNOR
Alex Sink: 48%
Rick Scott: 51%
Latino share of voters: 16%
Latino contribution to Scott: +0.32

ARIZONA
LATINO VOTE FOR GOVERNOR
Terry Goddard: 85%
Jan Brewer: 14%
Latino share of voters: 14%
Latino contribution to Goddard: +9.9

LATINO VOTE FOR SENATE
Rodney Glassman: 78%
John McCain: 22%
Latino share of voters: 14%
Latino contribution to Glassman: +7.8

TEXAS
LATINO VOTE FOR GOVERNOR
Bill White: 80%
Rick Perry: 19%
Latino share of voters: 24%
Latino contribution to White: +14.6