How Hispanics Win

The Rocky has a good piece today concerning the “coalition-building, de-racialized campaigns” of the Salazar Brothers in ‘04.

According to two CU Political Science Professors, the Salazars pushed themselves as more mainstream candidates – allowing them both to overcome daunting margins and achieve victory in a state that went for President Bush by more than 100,000 votes.

The campaigns de-emphasized their standing as Latino candidates. They reconstructed themselves as farmers and businessmen… Look at how Ken represented himself. Nothing in his bio said he is Latino. This was also reflected in the issues he presented positions on. He packages himself as a more mainstream candidate. John Salazar does the same thing: 'Send a farmer to Congress,' not send a Latino farmer to Congress. What becomes salient is his role as a farmer.

The article goes on to explain that while turnout among young voters nearly tripled in last year's presidential election, less than 30 percent of Hispanic adults in the state went to the polls in November (presumably because many weren't U.S. citizens or registered to vote.)

In politics, you go where the numbers are. While Colorado has seen a significant increase in Latino voters, and the Latino vote is a very important piece of the pie, they still represent about 10 percent of the voter population.

Comments

[thinkin]

I read that story and kept remembering my favorite Ken Salazar commercial - the one with him riding in on a horse and ending with him talking at the fence. Cowboy, Rancher, Naturalist. If that commercial is still seered into my brain, then obviously the campaign was successful in portraying that persona.

[Rorbough]

The Salazars have mastered what Ben Campbell wrote the book on. Create an a nostalgic image and Coloradans will continue to elect you to office regardless of your politics - or what party you want to be a member of. Congrats to the boys from the Valley! VIVA! Beware though Democrats not to read to much into there success and act as if it were a mandate for all Dem's. Republicans still rule the ways of the state and will return to that rule with a non-Kerry GOTV effort in 2006.

[GJB]

I'm glad it takes a team of PHDs at CU to state the obvious.

[Hugo O'conor]

They didn't run as Latinos because they are HINO's. You can't seriously compare a 7th generation American to those that have been here 2 generations or less. The Salazar brothers cannot represent the hispanic communities anymore than Hickenlooper represents the Dutch community.
It would be pandering if they were to emphasize their latino surnames and try to benfit from it... oh wait,nevermind.