Latinos Tired of Being GOP's 'Political Piñatas' but Dems 'a Decade Behind'

Latino voters remain disillusioned with both political parties, as the key voting demographic feels taken advantage of by one party and left out by the other.

An Axios/Ipsos poll released on Thursday found that nearly a third of Latinos, 28 percent, say neither the Democratic Party nor the Republican Party cares about them, and almost a quarter say neither party represents people like them. Twenty-two percent also said both parties take Latinos for granted.

"They only remember us during the elections," Hector Flores, the former president of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), told Newsweek.

Hispanic Americans are the fastest-growing racial and ethnic group in the U.S. electorate since the last midterm elections, according to the Pew Research Center. An estimated 34.5 million Latinos will be eligible to vote this year, a population that has increased by 4.7 million since 2018 and that represents more than 60 percent of total U.S. voter growth between then and now.

Domingo Garcia, the current LULAC president, told Newsweek that because a large percentage of Latino voters feel left out by both parties—as well as the current Biden administration and previous Trump administration—on key voting issues and legislative opportunities, "a large portion of Latino voters are up for grabs."

One key difference between the Democrats and the Republicans is how they've approached Latino voters. Realizing how Hispanic Americans are changing the course of electoral politics, Garcia described the Republican Party as using the voting bloc as "political piñatas" in tactics like running Hispanic candidates in Republican primaries.

Democrats, on the other hand, have remain "flat-footed" when it comes to investing in the Latino vote, not doing enough to get out messaging that appeals to these voters and failing in supporting Hispanic candidates running for office.

"Democrats are still a decade behind in their political thinking," Garcia said. "They still see Latinos as a small minority group that can be taken for granted. And the reality is Latinos are a major ethnic group in Texas, California and New Mexico and the largest minority group in several other states like Colorado, Arizona and Florida." However, he said, "We're not being treated that way."

Although both parties have approached the demographic in extremely different ways, Democrats have historically had an advantage when it comes to Latino voters. In Thursday's poll, 33 percent said the Democratic Party cares more about them, compared to the 11 percent who said the same of the Republican Party.

"In the past, we've been heavy Democratic because our parents and grandparents ascribed to the Democratic Party and the different programs that uplifted our community. I don't know that that is necessarily true in today's world," Flores said.

The Axios survey also showed Republicans with an advantage on Latinos' top voting issues: the economy and crime. A quarter of voters view Republicans more favorably on the economy and 19 percent prefer Republicans on crime. Eighteen percent think Democrats would perform better on each issue.

Garcia said one way parties could reach out to the Latino community is to help the average Hispanic American by offering opportunities for their small business or for their children on an educational level. Flores believes the best way for political outreach is to target young Hispanic voters.

Of all the candidates in the sunbelt states, where Latinos are swing voters, Flores said the one politician who has tapped into these young voters is gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke.

"Of all the candidates out there, I think he is one that attracts young people," Flores said, adding that cultivating voting behavior early on could help parties reap benefits later.

"Once you get these kids involved, the research indicates that they stay in politics way into later life," he said.