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November 14, 2010 | News OK | Original Article

Report tracks Latino voting pattern in midterm election

This month's midterm elections were historic for Hispanics. For the first time ever, three Latino candidates — all of them Republicans — won top statewide offices. In New Mexico, voters elected the nation's first Latina governor, Republican Susana Martinez. In Nevada, Republican Brian Sandoval won the governor's race and became Nevada's first Hispanic governor. And in Florida, Republican Marco Rubio won the U.S. Senate race.

Despite these big top-of-the-ticket wins for Republican Hispanic candidates, Latino voters continued their strong support for Democratic candidates nationwide. National exit poll results show that Democrats had a nearly two-to-one advantage — 64 percent versus 34 percent — over Republicans in U.S. House races among Latino voters. In other statewide races, Democratic candidates won the Latino vote, usually by wide margins.

Overall, according to the national exit poll, Latinos represented 8 percent of all voters, unchanged from 2006.

The report, "The Latino Vote in the 2010 Elections,” authored by Mark Hugo Lopez, Associate Director of the Pew Hispanic Center, is available at the Pew Hispanic Center's website, www.pewhispanic.org.

Despite these big top-of-the-ticket wins for Republican Hispanic candidates, Latino voters continued their strong support for Democratic candidates nationwide.

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