New Backgrounders on CA and NV Races Shows Perils of Hard Right Turn of GOP Candidates
Washington, DC – America’s Voice has prepared detailed backgrounders on the California gubernatorial race, the California Senate race, and the Nevada Senate race. The reports document the crucial role Latino voters will play in deciding the outcomes, the importance of immigration in influencing Latino voting behavior.
According to Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice, “In lily-white primaries, running hard to the right on immigration may pick up votes. But in states with significant and growing Latino voting blocs such as Nevada and California, such hard right positions could make Republican nominees unelectable.”
In California, GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman’s hopes of running a general election campaign in the primary was thwarted by her opponent Steve Poizner, who made illegal immigration his signature issue. Whitman responded by taking hard right positions, even to the point of championing her support from former Governor Pete Wilson. Similarly in California, the success of Carly Fiorina’s Senate challenge to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) may hinge on the engagement of Latino voters and whether these voters punish Fiorina for her sympathy for the anti-immigrant law in Arizona. In Nevada, the state’s growing Latino electorate will play a critical role in determining whether or not U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) – a strong supporter of immigration reform – beats back a challenge from tea party favorite and anti-immigration challenger Sharron Angle.
Added Sharry, “With Latinos comprising more than 12% of Nevada’s voters and more than 21% of California’s voters, and with immigration now a threshold and a family issue for most of these voters, the entire country will be watching to see how these voters and this issue play out in these marquee races.”
Click here to view America’s Voice Backgrounder on Latino Voters in CA and immigration’s role in CA gubernatorial and Senate races
Click here to view America’s Voice Backgrounder on Latino Voters in NV and immigration’s role in the NV Senate race
America’s Voice — Harnessing the power of American voices and American values to win common sense immigration reform.
http://www.americasvoiceonline.org
###
