Changing Hispanic Demographics: The Shift to Democratic Support

Abstract

While the body of literature concerning voter participation continues to grow there has been a lack of research into the attitudes and behaviors of Hispanics in the United States. To address this disparity in the literature I use the 2012 National Election Study Survey to find support for a Hispanic shift from the right to the left of the political spectrum. I find that Hispanics support the Democratic Party more than Whites on moral values and foreign policy, but not on economic issues. Hispanics are also more likely than Blacks to support the Democratic Party on foreign policy, but not moral values or economics. While my findings support the conclusions of previous authors, less support can be found for the types of shifts that V.O. Key described in Critical Election Theory.

Date of Award	2015
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	Eastern Illinois University
Supervisor	Andrew D. McNitt (Supervisor)