America has diverse racial and ethnic communities, and this factor plays a key role in the country’s political arena. In this section, I evaluate whether the impact of ethnicity and partisanship on vote swings in a racially diverse community, and in this case Dade County is my main focus.
The elections took another twist because a runoff was declared between two Black candidates: a republican and a Democrat (Cuban American). In Dude, eighty percent of registered voters at that time were Democrats while sixty percent were affiliated to the Republican Party. This twist offered scholars the perfect opportunity to unravel this myth: between ethnicity and partisanship, which one influences voting the most in a racially diverse setting?
Analysts studied the three wave scale (race, ethnicity and partisanship), and found out that ethnicity was the most influential factor. In their opinion, Hill, Moreno and Cue (2001) suggest that, in a multiracial political contest, ethnicity is the most influential factor.
The research proposed that if there were a Republican Hispanic candidate, they would gunner a support from both Democrat and Republican Hispanics. Secondly, Blacks would vote for a Black candidate irrespective of whether he was a Republican or Democrat.
Does Race Influence Activism?
In order to answer this question, Barreto, Manzano, Ramirez, and Kim (2009) analyzed the widespread Latino protests that took place in the USA, in the spring of 2006. The study conducted by Barreto, Manzano, Ramirez, and Kim (2009) analyzed if the protests were limited to Mexican immigrants as speculated by the press or if it was widespread among Latinos or radicalization of a group in support of a larger group’s course. In this case, the demonstrators were fighting for better and fair immigration laws.
It was estimated that up to 5 million Latinos went on the streets in over 160 cities across the country protesting for fair immigration laws. In some cities, there were multiple demonstrations, which attracted tens of thousands of demonstrators. This Latino led activism was an illustration of dissatisfaction with The House Bill 4437. The House Bill 4437 provided for stricter penalties for immigrants without proper documentation and those who assist such immigrants.
As the largest immigrants group, Latinos feared that this bill targeted them and that if they did not act first, they would suffer in the end. There were extensive Latino led mobilizations ranging from Latino Catholic churches to Latino schools and media. In support of their common course, Latinos in Latino-based cities came out in large numbers and showed their solidarity in denouncing the proposed immigration law.
The study conducted by Barreto, Manzano, Ramirez, and Kim (2009) employed both quantitative and qualitative approaches, and it found out that there was a solid sense of solidarity amongst Latinos over the immigration issue. This finding suggests that a race supports collective activism.
Juenke and Sampaio (2010) contend that deracialization of politics in the USA initially focused on black candidates in local non-partisan settings. Focusing on the competitive Colorado elections, Juenke and Sampaio (2010) sought to investigate the deracialization can be extended to Latinos and if it is attainable. Juenke and Sampaio (2010) used the case of Ken and John Salazar who were successful in the 2004 elections. This study revealed that, in highly competitive political environments, Latinos tend to deracialize their campaigns. In addition, other non-Latino voters were receptive to the derecialization approach instigated by the Latino candidates.
In the US, racial and ethnic minority candidates face gigantic political dilemmas, and they have to make an informed decision if they expect to amass the support of voters who are not from their race or ethnicity. In order to achieve this, they have engineered a superb tactic that seems to be working. In order to win more support, they are forced not to center their campaigns on ethnicity or race; they have to send out racially and ethnically inclusive messages if they wish to amass more support beyond their racial and ethnic affiliations.
References
Barreto, Matt, Manzano, Silvia, Ramirez, Ricardo, and Kim, Kathy. Mobilization, Participation, and Solidaridad Latino Participation in the 2006 Immigration Protest Rallies. Urban Affairs Review, (2009): 1-28. Print.
Hill, Kevin, Moreno, Darrio and Cue, Lourdes. Racial and Partisan Voting In A Tri-Ethnic City: The 1996 Dade County Mayoral Election. Journal of Urban Affairs, 6.232(2001): 91- 307. Print.
Juenke, Erik and Sampaio, Anna (2010). Deracialization and Latino Politics: The Case of the Salazar Brothers in Colorado. Political Research Quarterly, 63.1 (2010): 43-54. Print.
