Ethnic concerns and Latino party identification

The accelerated growth of the Latino population in the United States has made Latinos a coveted addition to each major political party's base. In this paper we examine the influence of ethnic concerns on the party identification of Latinos in the U.S. In contrast to previous studies, we account for Latinos’ perceptions of the political parties’ concern for their ethnic interests, allowing such interests to be self-defined. In a multinomial logit analysis of pooled data from three surveys of Latinos taken in 1999, 2004, and 2006, we find such perceptions do affect Latino partisanship, along with variables such as nativity and country of origin or ancestry. We also find a tendency toward independence among Latinos. Finally, we find movement toward the Democratic Party in 2004, once ethnic concerns are taken into account. One implication of the findings is that the party that can best persuade Latinos of their concern for their interests is the party most likely to gain their loyalties; indeed, the parties must earn those loyalties.

► We examine the influence of ethnic concerns on the party identification of Latinos in the U.S.
► We use data from three surveys of Latinos taken in 1999, 2004, and 2006.
► Multinomial logit analysis shows perceptions of parties’ ethnic concerns affect Latino party id.
► We find an increasing tendency toward independence among Latinos.
► Latinos moved toward the Democratic Party in 2004.