Democrats have long thought that they had the Latino vote in the bag, but the bad news just keeps piling on. Last week, a local Latino group threatened to pull their support from Gov. John Hickenlooper if he didn’t direct more funding to a drivers license program. And this week, The Denver Post is highlighting how President Obama’s punt on immigration could hurt Sen. Mark Udall’s re-election bid.
Here is what the Post had to say about Obama’s decision to postpone action on immigration reform until after Election Day:
Unlike many of his peers up for re-election, Udall represents a state with a large Latino community, estimated at 21 percent of the population and 14 percent of the electorate, according to the nonpartisan Pew Research Center.
Just as noteworthy, Colorado is home to an outspoken immigrant-rights movement that could tip the scales in a tight race.
The Huffington Post takes the analysis a step further by noting that a June poll by the Latino Decisions and Center for American Progress Action Fund found that “57 percent of Latino registered voters would feel less enthusiastic about voting Democrat if Obama declined to use his executive power to change deportation policy. Some 54 percent of Latino voters said they would, in fact, be less enthusiastic about voting at all under those circumstances.”
Yikes! Now, we’re not saying those Latino voters are going to move into the GOP’s camp – the likelihood is that they won’t – but what if those folks just decide not to show up on Election Day? In Colorado’s hard fought Senate race, that could mean the difference between winning and losing.