Preliminary Explorations of Latinos and Politics: Findings from the Chicago-Area Survey

In recent years the political orientations and growing influence of the rapidly expanding US Latino population has been of increasing interest to political parties and commentators, elected officials, and the general public. The 2004 elections underscored the current and future significance of Latinos in US politics at local, state, and national levels. Although this phenomenon has been the focus of considerable research among scholars of the American political system, how partisan and electoral patterns vary among Latinos by national origin, region, and socioeconomic status remains undefined, and a number of claims regarding the extent of participation and voting and the partisan leanings among Latinos remain under dispute. Because there is no shortage of questions, and each question is more complicated in reality than it may first appear, every opportunity to consider systematic evidence about Latinos’ participation in politics should be welcomed. The Chicago-Area Survey (CAS) has provided helpful evidence regarding an important slice of the Latino population—in the Chicago metro