The predominantly Republican state, Florida, has a new paint job in the wake of the elections that occurred on the 6th of this month.
The Latino community is being attributed to the democratic win in Florida, proving that Obama’s campaigning, Spanish-language ads, and promotion of the DREAM Act has had a powerful effect on the state’s Latino community. Both Obama and Romney battled for the state’s vote with various Spanish translation ads in print as well as on the radio and T.V., but the vote eventually fell to Obama this last Tuesday.
Obama’s Appeals to the Latino Community Pay Off
The Latino community has become the fastest growing demographic in the United States, especially in Florida. Compared to the 2008 elections, Obama’s campaigning has won him 62% of the Latino vote in Florida this year as opposed to the 57% he won previously. Among the Latino voters there is a rapidly growing population of Cuban-Americans as well.
Though most Cuban-Americans tend to vote republican, Obama received support from about 40% of their community, the largest percentage since Clinton, who won the support of 35%. Immigration and the economy proved to be what the Latino voters in Florida are most concerned about, and the DREAM Act is appealing to many people who have family members who are not yet legal citizens.
Despite Romney’s attempts at Spanish language translation ads and commercials, his immigrations plans drove away a large portion of Latino voters.
Obama Not the Only Democratic Victor in Florida
The elections also saw Joe Garcia elected to congress this past Tuesday as well. Garcia is Florida’s first Cuban-American democratic representative, and he won against another Cuban-American congressman, David Rivera. Two factors are said to have helped Garcia win Florida’s 26th District, which has been held by Rivera and other republicans for over a decade. The first thing that helped secure Garcia’s win was the redrawing of the district boundaries, which drew in more than 8,000 new democratic voters.
The second thing is that Rivera has recently been involved in finance scandals that have drawn the attention of federal authorities. The two candidates held a debate on a Spanish language T.V. channel in early October, and Garcia asked his opponent about the federal investigations as well as his opposition of the DREAM Act.
The Spanish to English translation of the short interview shows Rivera both denying the investigations and fumbling his way through the DREAM Act questions saying that he neither supported nor opposed the Act.