Why Are So Few Latinos Running For Political Office?

Why Are So Few Latinos Running For Political Office?
by Nathan Poole, Columnist

August 30, 2002

Contributor Nathan Poole According the U.S. Census Bureau, 50% of all Latino-Americans - about 17.7 million - reside in either California or Texas. What is so startling about this fact is not the sheer numbers, but that until this year, neither state has fielded a Latino candidate governor. Cruz Bustamante-the current lieutenant governor of California - is Latino, and so is multi-millionaire Tony Sanchez - the Democratic candidate for governor in Texas. Why, though, are these two politicians so rare?

Latinos, even if their names are noticeably missing on ballots, have become a definite political force to be reckoned with. In the 2000 presidential election, George W. Bush won 49 percent of the Texas Latino vote, but received only 24 percent of that vote in California, and less than 35 percent nationwide. Republican pollsters have warned that Republicans must increase their Latino support if they expect to remain in power. According to Rodolfo de la Garza, vice president of the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute in California, the days of "pinata politics," when Latinos were discounted and set aside by white candidates, are over.

Many, including de la Garza, credit Henry Cisneros, former housing secretary in the Clinton administration, with achieving the first major breakthrough for Latinos in America when he defeated white opponents to become the first Latino mayor of San Antonio, Texas. Prior to Cisneros' victory to become the first Latino mayor of San Antonio, many Latinos felt that issues and concerns that were important to them were not represented.

The question still remains. Why are more Latinos not running for political office in America? Could it be, as many whites seem to believe, that the vast majority of Latinos are illegal aliens and are not eligible to vote? Not a chance. In California, 70% of all Latinos are U.S. citizens; in Texas, that number is at 60%. Those numbers do not even include legal residents who could soon become U.S. citizens.

They are not all illegal. Fine. Why then are they not running? Is the reason because Latinos are not generally politically motivated? Not hardly. "It means influence, it means buying power, it means having a greater voice and being able to have more officials that can represent that voice," said Deborah Ortega, a City Council member in Denver. Latinos definitely understand the importance of political power in the United States.

Sadly, there are only two reasons why more Latinos are not finding their names on political ballots. First, as anybody who is even moderately involved in politics can tell you, running for political office requires financial backing. In many cases, it requires quite a bit of corporate financing. Latino candidates, as a whole, do not represent corporations in the same manner in which their white counterparts do. Al Gore attempted - but failed - to run as a populist candidate in the 2000 presidential election. Latinos, though, are true populists. Many have come from humble beginnings and side on many issues with ordinary people over huge corporations.

Secondly, Latinos face an even more formidable opponent than a lack of corporate financing when it comes to running for political office. Latino-Americans, even in the year 2002, face racism. Many white Americans scoff at the notion of racism, but I beg you to look at the facts. Most whites vote for other whites, regardless of political affiliation. Why is this? Racism.

You're still not sure? Read what The American Partisan columnist Dave Gibson has to say on the issue of minorities in America. "When the U.S. population becomes dominated by blacks and Hispanics," Gibson writes, "this country as we know it will cease to exist. Crime and drug use will cripple this nation. We will have absolutely no tax base on which to depend. Every item sold in this country will be imported from Europe and Asia."

Not everybody who writes for The American Partisan agrees with those views, but at least one respected columnist apparently believes them wholeheartedly. What does it all mean? It means that Latino-Americans still have a difficult road to travel in order to have more political opportunities ***.

A native of San Antonio, Texas and a veteran of the United States Air Force, Nathan Poole is employed by the United States Postal Service. He lives in Irwindale, California with his wife and family.

Photo of the author courtesy of staff files