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Florida’s Latino and Hispanic Voters

Erik Hersman
/
Flickr / Creative Commons

According to population data released by the U.S. Census Bureau in June, Florida grew by 1.46 million people from 2010 to 2015 and Hispanics made up 51 percent of that growth.  Registered Hispanic voters are also on the rise and now make up 2 million of the state’s 12.2 million voters.  As the country’s largest swing state, political strategists have their eyes on this crucial demographic.  

A consortium of national labor and Latino advocacy groups met in Orlando last week to launch new Latino voter outreach initiatives.  We’ll learn about those efforts as we explore Florida’s changing Latino and Hispanic populations, what issues are most important to them and potential impacts on the outcome of this year’s elections.

Guests: 

Jose Calderon, President of the Hispanic Federation

Edward Quinones, Florida Chair for Human Rights with LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens

Carmen Rey-Gomez, former Director of the Hispanic Institute at Hodges University

Hector Sanchez, Executive Director of LCLAA (Labor Council for Latin American Development/Chair of NHLA (National Hispanic Leadership Agenda)