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Latino Ideology, Congressional Polarization, And Racial Threat: An Analysis Of The Influence Of Latinos On Congressional Politics, Lisa Sanchez

Political Science ETDs

This dissertation examines the relationship between changes in demographics and changes in congressional polarization. It comes out of two important trends in American politics in the last several decades: (1) Rising Latino Population and (2) Rise in Party polarization in Congress. Latinos are the primary source of immigration to the United States and high fertility rates among this population are contributing to a record number of Latinos becoming eligible to vote. According to Pew every 30 seconds, a Latino becomes eligible to vote totaling 66,000 every month. In terms of the polarization trend, Congressional polarization is at its highest point …