POL 168 Chican@/Latin@ Politics

1. POL 168Chican@/Latin@ Politics Professor Brad Jones Dept. of Political Science UC-Davis Winter 2008

2. Latino Participation • What is political participation? • The different flavors? • Barriers to participation? • Costs associated with participation • For Latino/a community, language may be an issue. • General findings: • On most indicators of participation, Latinos tend to exhibit lower rates compared to Anglos • Reasons?

3. Some Data • Pew 2004 National Survey of Latinos: Politics and Civic Participation • National survey of Latino/a individuals • Let’s turn to some simple analysis and see what we learn.

4. Interest in Politics • Interest in politics does a good job of predicting subsequent participation. • Contrast Latina vs. Latino • Question asks about attention paid to politics.

5. Attention: Males slightly more attentive than females in survey (p=.07, two-tail).

6. Attention: US-born more attentive than non US-born in survey (p=.00, two-tail).

7. Other Results • Mexican Origin slightly less attentive compared to non-Mexican origin. • Cuban Origin significantly more attentive to politics compared to non-Cubano • No significant differences in attentiveness for Central or South American descent. • Comparisons to Anglo population?

8. Party Affiliation • Why care about party affiliation? • Closed primaries • Dominance of two-party system (like it or not) • Concerns about “monolithic” vote. • Is it fair to characterize Latino/as as a singular group? • Let’s consider some data.

9. Identification: All Respondents

10. Identification: By Gender

11. Identification: By Birthplace

12. Identification by Origin: Mexican • Mexican Origin • About 14 percent identify REPUBLICAN • About 35 percent identify DEMOCRAT • About 26 percent identify INDEPENDENT • About 12 percent identify as “SOMETHING ELSE” • Take-away points?

13. Identification by Origin: Cuba • Cuban Origin • About 47 percent identify REPUBLICAN • About 19 percent identify DEMOCRAT • About 17 percent identify INDEPENDENT • About 6 percent identify as “SOMETHING ELSE” • Take-away points?

14. Identification by Origin: Puerto Rico • Puerto Rican Origin • About 16 percent identify REPUBLICAN • About 44 percent identify DEMOCRAT • About 17 percent identify INDEPENDENT • About 12 percent identify as “SOMETHING ELSE” • Take-away Points?

15. Identification: Central American • Central American Origin • 14 percent REPUBLICAN • 32 percent DEMOCRAT • 31 percent INDEPENDENT • 6 percent SOMETHING ELSE • “Leaners” 47 percent DEM

16. Identification: South American • South American Origin • 17 percent REPUBLICAN • 36 percent DEMOCRAT • 28 percent INDEPENDENT • 10 percent SOMETHING ELSE • “Leaners” 47 percent DEM

17. Implications of all of this? • Are Latino/as monolithic, in terms of partisanship? • What do these sliver of data suggest for the future? (If anything) • Other interesting features of these data… • “Descriptive Representation” • To what extent are Latino/as represented by a Latino/a? • Does it matter?

18. Descriptive Representation • “Latinos are more likely to vote if there are Latinos on the ballot.” (Agree/Disagree)

19. Descriptive Representation • “Latino Voters are more likely to vote for a Latino candidate instead of a non-Latino running for the same office if they have the same qualifications.” (Agree/Disagree)

20. Other Results • 56 percent of respondents agree with the statement: “Latino voters will usually pick a Latino candidate even if there is a better qualified non-Latino running…”. • 37 percent of respondents agree with the statement: “I am more likely to vote if there are Latinos on the ballot.” (i.e. most disagree) • Implications of this?

21. Side-trip to Immigration • You didn’t think I could keep away from it… • 65 percent say undocumented migrants “help the economy by providing low-cost labor.” • 61 percent of Republican Latinos agree. • 56 percent of US-born Latinos agree. • 78 percent of Mexican origin agree • 56 percent of Cuban origin agree • 41 percent of Puerto Rican origin agree • 69 percent of Central American origin agree • 61 percent of South American origin agree

22. Immigration • 54 percent support guest worker program with provision migrants must return to their home country. • 67 percent of Republican Latinos agree. • 51 percent of US-born Latinos agree. • 57 percent of Mexican origin agree • 64 percent of Cuban origin agree • 42 percent of Puerto Rican origin agree • 43 percent of Central American origin agree • 50 percent of South American origin agree

23. Immigration • 87 percent support “path-to-citizenship.” • 85 percent of Republican Latinos agree. • 80 percent of US-born Latinos agree. • 90 percent of Mexican origin agree • 91 percent of Cuban origin agree • 79 percent of Puerto Rican origin agree • 90 percent of Central American origin agree • 90 percent of South American origin agree

24. Immigration • 57 say immigrants “have to speak English to say they are part of American society.” • 65 percent of Republican Latinos agree. • 53 percent of US-born Latinos agree. • 54 percent of Mexican origin agree • 65 percent of Cuban origin agree • 54 percent of Puerto Rican origin agree • 54 percent of Central American origin agree • 71 percent of South American origin agree

25. Immigration • 82 percent say immigrants “have to believe in the US Constitution to say they are part of American society.” • 91 percent of Republican Latinos agree. • 81 percent of US-born Latinos agree. • 80 percent of Mexican origin agree • 91 percent of Cuban origin agree • 78 percent of Puerto Rican origin agree • 81 percent of Central American origin agree • 84 percent of South American origin agree

26. Immigration • 55 percent say immigrants “have to become a US citizen to say they are part of American society.” • 64 percent of Republican Latinos agree. • 57 percent of US-born Latinos agree. • 51 percent of Mexican origin agree • 63 percent of Cuban origin agree • 63 percent of Puerto Rican origin agree • 52 percent of Central American origin agree • 47 percent of South American origin agree

27. Immigration • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Lb3oFzCj_0