In 2004 the exit polls reported that about 40 percent of Latinxs voted for George W. Bush’s reelection, the highest percentage ever of Latinxs for a Republican candidate. There was talk about Latinxs potentially helping the Republican Party become a more diverse organization and competitive among people of color. As we know now, the Republican Latinx wave never happened.
In the elections since 2004, Latinx Americans have voted for the Democratic candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton by margins approaching or surpassing a three-to-one ratio over their Republican opponents John McCain, Mitt Romney, and Donald Trump. Many consider the Republican Party’s hardening stance on immigration since the end of the Bush-era to have alienated Latinx voters.
In this post, I argue that although immigration and racial politics, in general, may be behind the Latinx decline for the GOP, rising secularism among Latinxs has also contributed to the shrinking of GOP membership in the community. CONT.
Juhem Navarro-Rivera (Socioanalítica Research), Religion in Public