As Republicans look to regroup after President Obama’s re-election victory, one particular concern seems to have taken hold: the GOP’s profound failure with Latino voters.
Just after Mitt Romney conceded defeat, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio took to Facebook, warning that “Republicans need to work harder” to show how their beliefs benefit immigrant communities. Rick Santorum, Romney’s fiercest challenger for the Republican nomination, said the party “didn’t have a strong message for those folks.” And even Fox News firebrand Sean Hannity got in on the about-face, telling his radio listeners that he had “evolved” on immigration and that Republicans need to support reform—including the heretofore much-loathed “pathway to citizenship.”
The Republicans’ urgency is warranted. President Obama won 71 percent of the Hispanic vote this week, even more than in 2008, and Latinos are by far the fastest-growing demographic in the United States.
