Vegas Hispanics saying no to Trump, yes to a Democrat

Las Vegas Review Journal

By Michelle Iracheta

August 2, 2015

Vegas Hispanics saying no to Trump, yes to a Democrat

Nearly a dozen presidential candidates already have been campaigning in the Silver State, which will host the first caucus in the West in February after those in Iowa and New Hampshire.

It's a telling sign that Nevada is again a battleground state, which means the about two dozen candidates will be hashing it out to seize the attention of the state's more than 985,198 registered voters.

With all those candidates to choose from, it's no mystery why many voters haven't made a decision.

Nevada's Hispanics, which make up 27 percent of the state's population, are no exception, according to interviews conducted over the past few weeks in Las Vegas.

Though these Hispanics haven't chosen their candidate, they are sure of three things. They don't like Republican candidate Donald Trump. They're not buying the immigration proposals espoused by the GOP candidates. And they're going to vote for a Democrat.

"Many Latino voters are waiting to see which candidate best represents their views, and which do not," said Fernando Romero, president of Hispanics in Politics, Nevada's oldest Hispanic political organization.

"In this election cycle, the Latino community will take a closer look at the candidates to see how viable they are. I don't think many of us are going to be making a decision tomorrow. Because the candidates are still coming in," he said.

Nevada is home to more than 767,054 Hispanics, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Thirty percent of the people living in Clark County are Hispanic.

Ernest Acosta, 75, said he is looking at Hillary Clinton as the next president in the White House, and he thinks fellow Democrat Bernie Sanders has good ideas about wealth distribution.

"Hillary has got no experience as president," he said "But her husband does. When (Bill) Clinton was in office, everyone was good. Everyone was making money. Everyone was buying houses."

Still, he said, Trump might have a chance.

"Money talks in elections," Acosta said of the multibillionaire, who is the Republican front-runner, according to a recent CNN poll.

Cynthia De La Torre, a registered voter in Clark County, said none of the current candidates interests her, but if Trump were to win the GOP nomination, it might push her and her family to vote against him.

"Trump leading in the polls scares me," she said. "I always vote in the presidential election. However, it would get me out to the polls much faster. Based on how my friends and family feel about the remarks he made, I will bet they will be extremely encouraged to vote against him."

Fifty-year-old Patrice St. John said he is considering voting for Clinton, but Sanders looks interesting. He said the "inflammatory" comments from some Republican candidates made it easy for him to ignore them altogether.

"I always vote Democrat," he said.

Latino voters are wary of Republican candidates, said Lynn Tramonte, deputy director of the immigrant rights group America's Voice. She said the party hasn't been particularly concerned in what Latinos are interested in.

"I don't think any of the Republicans are completely in line with the Latino community's position on immigration reform," Tramonte said of the 17 GOP candidates who have thrown their name into the ring for the 2016 election. "It sounds like Republicans don't think there is a place in America for Latinos. It's hard to ask people to vote for you when you're being racist."

The nation's lack of action on immigration reform is like a "gaping wound," Tramonte said.

"Our issues are your issues. Education, health, economics, but all of those issues are covered by the umbrella called immigration reform," Romero said.

Tramonte agreed.

"Latino voters are concerned about the same issues that all American voters are concerned about, but immigration is a special issue," Tramonte said. "About two-thirds of Latino voters know somebody who doesn't have immigration documents or who are subject to deportation at any moment."

More than 11 million immigrants are living in the country illegally.

"You cannot walk into the White House without winning a sizable share of the Latino voters," Tramonte said.

A recent report by Latino Decisions found that to win Nevada's electoral votes, the Republican candidate would have to get 45 percent of the Latino vote, according to political experts.

The biggest obstacle to tapping into that Latino vote is to rally them, said David Damore, associate professor of political science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and senior analyst at Latino Decisions. He co-authored the Latino Decisions report.

"Latino turnout is highly variable and requires significant outreach and mobilization efforts," Damore said. "When this occurs such as in 2010 and 2012 in Nevada, Latinos can be decisive. However, when there is little effort to engage Latino voters, turnout is dismal as in 2014."

One reason is that many Latinos doubt that either party is "particularly responsive to their communities," Damore said.

But Tramonte said she thinks that the Latino community will rise, especially when it's under attack.

Romero agreed.

"I can tell you who we are not supporting," he said with a laugh.

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