Political Identity Convergence: On Being Latino, Becoming a Democrat, and Getting Active
The majority of Latinos in the United States identify with the Democratic Party, a tendency with broad political implications as Latinos become an increasingly large segment of the population. Little research, however, has delved into the origins of this preference. In this research, we contrast two...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Russell Sage Foundation
2016-06-01
|
| Series: | RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.rsfjournal.org/doi/full/10.7758/RSF.2016.2.3.11 |
| _version_ | 1819119075127721984 |
|---|---|
| author | Leonie Huddy Lilliana Mason S. Nechama Horwitz |
| author_facet | Leonie Huddy Lilliana Mason S. Nechama Horwitz |
| author_sort | Leonie Huddy |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The majority of Latinos in the United States identify with the Democratic Party, a tendency with broad political implications as Latinos become an increasingly large segment of the population. Little research, however, has delved into the origins of this preference. In this research, we contrast two explanations for Latinos’ Democratic proclivities: an instrumental explanation grounded in ideological policy preferences and an expressive identity account based on the defense of Latino identity and status. In analysis of data from two large national datasets, the 2012 Latino Immigrant National Election Study and American National Election Study focused on Latino immigrants and citizens respectively, we find strong support for the expressive identity explanation. Hispanic and partisan identities have converged among Latinos in the United States to create a large number of Latino Democrats regardless of citizenship status. Those who identify strongly as Latinos and see pervasive discrimination against Latinos are the strongest Democrats, a process that further intensified over the course of the 2012 election. A strong partisan preference increased political campaign activity, though this activity level was modest overall. Relatively few Latinos had worked on a campaign or given money to a candidate; somewhat larger numbers had tried to convince others about a candidate or worn a button or displayed a sticker. Finally, some support was evident for an instrumental account. Latino support for government-provided health insurance in 2012 consistently increased support for the Democratic Party. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T05:59:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6b0e2babedc04e91aea6e77353723780 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2377-8253 2377-8261 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T05:59:00Z |
| publishDate | 2016-06-01 |
| publisher | Russell Sage Foundation |
| record_format | Article |
| series | RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-6b0e2babedc04e91aea6e773537237802022-12-21T18:36:36ZengRussell Sage FoundationRSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences2377-82532377-82612016-06-012320522810.7758/RSF.2016.2.3.11Political Identity Convergence: On Being Latino, Becoming a Democrat, and Getting ActiveLeonie Huddy0Lilliana Mason1S. Nechama Horwitz2Stony Brook UniversityUniversity of Maryland, College ParkStony Brook UniversityThe majority of Latinos in the United States identify with the Democratic Party, a tendency with broad political implications as Latinos become an increasingly large segment of the population. Little research, however, has delved into the origins of this preference. In this research, we contrast two explanations for Latinos’ Democratic proclivities: an instrumental explanation grounded in ideological policy preferences and an expressive identity account based on the defense of Latino identity and status. In analysis of data from two large national datasets, the 2012 Latino Immigrant National Election Study and American National Election Study focused on Latino immigrants and citizens respectively, we find strong support for the expressive identity explanation. Hispanic and partisan identities have converged among Latinos in the United States to create a large number of Latino Democrats regardless of citizenship status. Those who identify strongly as Latinos and see pervasive discrimination against Latinos are the strongest Democrats, a process that further intensified over the course of the 2012 election. A strong partisan preference increased political campaign activity, though this activity level was modest overall. Relatively few Latinos had worked on a campaign or given money to a candidate; somewhat larger numbers had tried to convince others about a candidate or worn a button or displayed a sticker. Finally, some support was evident for an instrumental account. Latino support for government-provided health insurance in 2012 consistently increased support for the Democratic Party.http://www.rsfjournal.org/doi/full/10.7758/RSF.2016.2.3.11Latino identitypartisanshippolitical participationsocial identity |
| spellingShingle | Leonie Huddy Lilliana Mason S. Nechama Horwitz Political Identity Convergence: On Being Latino, Becoming a Democrat, and Getting Active RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences Latino identity partisanship political participation social identity |
| title | Political Identity Convergence: On Being Latino, Becoming a Democrat, and Getting Active |
| title_full | Political Identity Convergence: On Being Latino, Becoming a Democrat, and Getting Active |
| title_fullStr | Political Identity Convergence: On Being Latino, Becoming a Democrat, and Getting Active |
| title_full_unstemmed | Political Identity Convergence: On Being Latino, Becoming a Democrat, and Getting Active |
| title_short | Political Identity Convergence: On Being Latino, Becoming a Democrat, and Getting Active |
| title_sort | political identity convergence on being latino becoming a democrat and getting active |
| topic | Latino identity partisanship political participation social identity |
| url | http://www.rsfjournal.org/doi/full/10.7758/RSF.2016.2.3.11 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT leoniehuddy politicalidentityconvergenceonbeinglatinobecomingademocratandgettingactive AT lillianamason politicalidentityconvergenceonbeinglatinobecomingademocratandgettingactive AT snechamahorwitz politicalidentityconvergenceonbeinglatinobecomingademocratandgettingactive |