From Politic365 November 13, 2012:

Latino voters accounted for 10% of the voting population in the 2012 election, up from 2008, and in several races these voters proved to be a pivotal voting bloc. In many key swing states that went to President Barack Obama on November 6, Latinos pushed the president and other candidates over the top to victory, according to three political science professors familiar with Latino voting behavior that we spoke to.

But what do these voting patterns mean for Democrats, and why did Latino voters support President Obama and Democratic candidates over Republicans and Mitt Romney?

Professor Luis Fraga, Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement at the University of Washington in Seattle, Henry Flores, professor of Political Science and Dean of the Graduate School at St. Mary’s University, in San Antonio, Texas and Stephen A. Nuño, assistant professor in the Department of Politics and International Affairs at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff shared their thoughts with us about Latino voters in 2012…

From Politic365 on Nov 7, 2012:

Latino candidates for Congress and Senate did well in Tuesday’s election, except in California and Arizona. All told, a few new Latinos are headed to Washington, D.C. next year.

Democratic New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez was re-elected, but Democratic candidate in Arizona Richard Carmona lost to Republican Jeff Flake, 1,413 of 1,667 precincts reporting, 50.82% to 44.81%. (Incidentally, anti-immigrant activist Sheriff Joe Arpaio won another term in office, beating Paul Penzone by 10%).

Then, Tea Party candidate Ted Cruz coasted to victory with 58.25% of the vote in Texas. Cruz is the first Latino U.S. Senator from Texas, he is a Cuban born in Canada who doesn’t often claim his Latino roots.

In California, several Latinos lost congressional races. Republican and former Lieutenant Governor Abel Maldonado lost to Democrat Lois Capps in the 24th congressional district 47.9% to 52.1% as of this writing. Then Tony Cardenas, a Democrat, soundly defeated David R. Hernandez, no party preference in California’s 29th district race 68.8% to 31.2%…

From Politic365 on Nov 1, 2012:

Arizona’s Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Richard Carmona is positioning himself as a candidate that Arizona has been waiting for, one that will bring back the Barry Goldwater-like politics that are at the core of the state’s identity. Carmona was seen as the underdog in the race, as we reported, but several polls show him ahead and he out-fundraised his Republican opponent in the last quarter.

Politic365 spoke to Carmona Wednesday — less than a week out from the election pitting him against Republican Congressman Jeff Flake. He seemed convinced that he was the candidate not only for Latinos in Arizona, but for moderate Republicans, women and others looking for a return to politics that are less extreme than today’s Tea Party version of Republicanism. There are big differences between the two candidates, Carmona said, and he’s for perpetuating the “infrastructure of opportunity” that allowed a homeless high school dropout like himself to become Surgeon General of the United States.

You can see Arizona’s shift to new-old politics in the “Republicans for Carmona” groups that he says litter the state, he said. These Republicans are not throwing their support behind a Puerto Rican originally from New York because they want liberal politics, he said, rather, they are after something a bit more old school…