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Is a large and growing segment of Hispanic American voters leaning independent, as in less securely tied to either of the two major parties? 

That’s the operative question in this first episode on Hispanic swing voters, featuring three noted experts: former Florida Congressman Carlos Curbelo, UT San Antonio political scientist Dr. Sharon Navarro, and former four-term San Antonio Mayor and Clinton Cabinet member, Dr. Henry Cisneros. 

Curbelo notes the growing diversity of Hispanic voters, even within the south Florida district he represented. He goes on to explain that the recent and, to many, surprising shift of Latinos toward the Republican Party may be a result of discomfort with far left rhetoric among families who have emigrated from socialist dictatorships such as Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba. 

Dr. Sharon Navarro observes many Hispanic voters may be registered to a political party yet remain “persuadable” by candidates speaking to concerns from the opposing side. She notes, for example, that the federal government’s Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a major employer in the South Texas region. As a result, calls from the far left to completely shut down the border patrol may have persuaded some Texas Hispanics to vote GOP despite the extreme white nationalist rhetoric on the far right. 

“Politics is a marketplace of ideas,” notes Dr. Henry Cisneros, one of the nation’s first Hispanic mayors who governed as a pragmatic centrist. “Progressives, people to the left, Democrats generally would do well to try to put yourself in other people's shoes who are striving to create a better life for their families, who want the best possible education for their children in basic ways and in traditional ways, with respect to views about the country and patriotism.” 

Our nation’s fastest growing ethnic group may be our least predictable voting bloc again in the 2022 elections and beyond. Tune in for a better understanding of the diverse backgrounds, priorities and viewpoints characterizing Hispanic American swing voters.