Pundits left and right have embraced the notion that the Republican Party has a strong political interest in passing comprehensive immigration reform. As the argument goes, the GOP lost a good shot at the presidency in 2012 because of a pro-Obama shift among Latino voters, which itself was a reaction to the GOP’s increasingly anti-immigration stance. …
So what does the evidence say about how Latinos have responded to changes in the GOP stance on immigration? Here, I look at two examples, both of which tell a similar story. Latino voters do turn anti-Republican in reaction to Republicans who are perceived to turn anti-immigration. [cont.]
Dan Hopkins, (Georgetown U.), Washington Post