By KAJAL PATEL
The Latino millennials are the largest Hispanic group of youth voters, and they are likely to determine the next Democratic presidential candidate.
Millennials are young people between the ages of about 18 to 25. Of the nearly 57 million Latinos living in the United States, about 27 million are eligible to vote. The median age for a Latino is 27, according to the U.S. Census, and almost half of the Latino eligible voters for the upcoming election are millennials. Polls show that as of now, Hillary Clinton has majority of the young Latino voters behind her.
Jennifer Munoz, a junior at Ramapo College will be voting for the first time in the upcoming presidential election. “Majority of the people in my family have said they will be voting for Hillary Clinton. I have been paying closer attention to her, and agree that I will most probably be voting for her as well,” said Munoz, who is a Democrat.
As an increasingly college-educated demographic, the Latino electorate has leaned toward the Democratic party for decades. According to Pew Research Center, Latinos are 14% of the voters in Florida, Nevada and Colorado, but in every other state only make up 5% of the voters.
Latino support for Clinton, in part, stems from President Obama’s work towards immigration reform and deportation relief policies. She vowed to extend protection to the parents of young undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, often called “Dreamers.”
Not all candidates have been sensitive to the Latino issues during the campaign. Republican candidate Donald Trump has repeatedly made derogatory comments about Hispanics in the United States.
“I have nothing good to say about Trump, considering how awful his remarks have been towards my people. Building a wall to keep out illegal immigrants?” Munoz said. “That is the worst possible solution to an avid problem in our nation. I wouldn’t want someone in office who handles issues in such a manner.”
With Clinton’s narrow beating of candidate Bernie Sanders in the recent Iowa Caucus, Latino voters may just see the official they elected come 2017.
I really like your statistics and links to the Pew Research Center to support your story. You have great information and I like how you explained where the mass Latino support for Hillary Clinton comes from with her promising to extend protection to the parents of Latino “Dreamers.” I would love to learn what a more conservative Latino voter thought of the presidential race, too, just to provide a contradicting angle. Great story though and awesome title.