Is the Bridge Broken? Increasing Ethnic Attachments and Declining Party Influence among Latino Voters

Abstract

In this article, we test whether perceptions of Latino linked fate influence partisan identification and voting behavior among the Latino electorate across time. Specifically, we contend that attachments to the Latino community have become more widely used heuristics for Latino voters due to an increase in anti-immigrant (Latino) sentiment. Moreover, growing attachments to the Latino community have the potential to influence partisanship and even compete with traditional partisan loyalties (i.e., partisan heuristics) at the polls. To test our argument, we rely on multiple surveys of Latino likely voters with similar measures that span over a decade and a half. Our results indicate that perceptions of linked fate, to varying degrees, are associated with Latino’s decisions to identify with the Democratic Party. At least in more recent presidential elections, they also indicate that Latinos are becoming increasingly reliant on ethnic heuristics while becoming less reliant on their own partisan identity to make decisions at the polls. The findings have important implications for the future of the Democratic and Republican Parties’ ability to court Latino voters and our understanding of how party identification operates among the Latino electorate.