Adelante Mujeres What Does the Unprecedented Showing of Latina Candidates and Voters in the 2018 Elections Reveal About the Balance of Political Power in the Trump Era (original) (raw)

Informa UK Limited, 2019

Abstract

T he Latinx community f igured prominently in national politics throughout the 2018 election season, as attacks on both Latinx and Latin American immigrants remained the centerpiece of the Trump administration’s policies and discourse. The President, along with key Cabinet members and Congressional allies, engaged in an onslaught of daily attacks, from the dismissal of Puerto Rico after the devastation of Hurricanes Maria and Irma; to the execution of a “zero tolerance policy” on undocumented families and asylum-seekers on the U.S -Mexico border; through the incarceration of more than 2,400 children; to threats to end birthright citizenship; to the deployment of 5,200 troops to the border; and the infamous and prolonged derision of a caravan of Central American migrants and asylum-seekers. Candidates from Arizona to Pennsylvania replicated this strategy, eager to receive the president’s endorsement and support. Commercial advertisements, robocalls, mailers, and campaign rallies regularly featured racialized and gendered narratives centered on a Latinx threat with concomitant calls to “build a wall” and “keep them out.” Amid all this, however, the 2018 midterm election expanded the f ield of Latinx—and especially Latina— candidates as well as the Latinx electorate. It was an election season where record numbers of Latinas became part of the electoral process as advocates, fundraisers, donors, campaign staff, commentators, canvassers, organizers, voters, and most importantly, candidates. Women of color, and Latinas specifically, broke barriers to political incorporation, won a record number of congressional seats around the country, and proved significant to shifting power to Democrats in the House of Representatives. And while there were a number of high profile state and national races among Latino candidates, including the United State Senate race in Texas featuring Cuban-American Republican Senator Ted Cruz, or the competitive House race in New York’s 19th Congressional District won by Puerto Rican Democratic Antonio Delgado, it was Latinas who shattered glass ceilings, including Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, who became the first Latina Democrat (and woman of color) elected governor in the United States. Finally, f ive new Latinas were elected to Congress: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY14), Xochitl Torres Small (NM-2), Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (FL-26), Veronica Escobar (TX-16), and Sylvia Garcia (TX29), increasing the number of Latina representatives in Congress by 30 percent. Latina participation as both candidates and voters in national contests helped change the balance of power in the House and challenge an openly racist and misogynistic national narrative on immigration, citizenship, and representation. Their increased presence in Congress has also introduced new legislative possibilities and coalitions while defying entrenched political norms that have marginalized Latinx interests within both political parties. Although the prospects for achieving legislative reform on issues such as immigration are unlikely in the

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