New data suggest GOP 2016 nominee will need to win nearly half of Latino
vote

New research out Friday shows that Republicans will need a larger slice
of Latino voters than previously thought if they hope to win the White
House in 2016, creating an even tougher hurdle for the eventual nominee.

Thanks to changing demographics, the conventional math that once said
the GOP would need to win a minimum of 40% of the Latino electorate no
longer holds.

Now, data suggests that Republicans will need as much as 47% of Latino
voters -- nearly twice the share that Mitt Romney is believed to have
captured in 2012.

Put another way: 47% is the new 40%. And it is a daunting number.

"It's very, very, very basic: Every single year, you need a little bit
more of the Latino vote," said Matt Barreto, UCLA political science
professor and co-founder of the polling firm Latino Decisions. "It's
just math."

The research is based on demographic changes and voter preferences
emerging at a time when older, white voters who have powered Republican
nominees are fading. The growing Latino electorate is expected to
surpass 10% of all voters in 2016, and younger white voters are trending
toward Democrats.

The findings are likely to scramble Republican strategy circles, because
the top Republican candidates are currently performing no better than
Romney among Latinos -- a problem compounded by celebrity candidate
Donald Trump's disparaging comments about Mexican immigrants.

Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor, does best with Latinos, at 27%,
according to a Univision poll this week, closely trailed by Sen. Marco
Rubio (R-Fla.) at 25%.

http://tinyurl.com/qcovwkg


Heh heh heh heh