Democrats in tough races for the Senate during this year’s midterm elections are wondering how many Latinos, disillusioned with the lack of progress made by President Obama on immigration reform, are going to turn out to vote for them, and whether anything can be done to counteract the feeling of disillusionment that has been spreading throughout this community.
Many Latinos believe that some Democratic candidates for the Senate have chosen to focus on re-election rather than on the interests of the Latino community, and that the president has done much the same by postponing taking executive action on the immigration issue until after the elections have concluded, resulting in more undocumented immigrants being deported in the meantime.
There are a number of priorities that have been established in the Latino community, including education, health care and job creation, but immigration is the hot topic that tends to filter out those candidates who really have the best interests of this demographic at heart, according to the executive director of Mi Familia Vota, Ben Monterroso. The lack of action over immigration reform is therefore causing destabilization among Latino voters, with many now openly wondering whether the president or his party can be trusted to keep their promises.
“The enthusiasm rate has dropped,” acknowledges the co-founder of research and polling firm Latino Decisions, Gary Segura. “People are frustrated ‒ actually, they’re more than frustrated. They’re angry.”