Increase in Latino Turnout Helped Democrats Win House

Voter turnout in the midterms was up among all racial groups, but increased by a whooping 174% among Latino voters compared to 2014. This increase was pivotal in the "blue wave" which allowed Democrats to capture at least 35 additional House seats and maybe as many as 39 when the counting of ballots is completed next week.

Ben Ray Luján, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, attributes the increase to Democratic outreach efforts.

Ben Ray Luján in The Guardian: “Latinos showed up to the polls because we talked to them, we listened to them, our candidates connected with their personal stories, we knocked on their doors and we reached out to them online.”

And Latino voters responded to this outreach campaign by overwhelmingly supporting Democratic candidates. Early estimates, based on exit polling, show that about 70% of Latinos voted for Democrats in the midterms.

Matt Barreto, co-founder of Latino Decisions, polled voters on election day and found that there was a "Trump effect" motivating Latino turnout, but that other factors played a role as well.

The Guardian: "Barreto said Latinos identified healthcare as the most important issue, followed by immigration. Latino voters said they were “tired of the discussion of immigrants in such a negative and racist” overtones, which Barreto said was how the respondents characterized the commentary from Trump and Republicans."

America's Hispanic community will also have a record level of representation in Washington in January, with at least 36 Latinos in the House and four in the Senate.

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