A sign in English and Spanish is seen as people wait to vote in 2012 outside a polling place in Kissimmee, Fla. (CNS/Scott A. Miller, Reuters)
by Mario T. García
Like many others, I am quite sick and tired of this long, exhaustive and awful campaign (primarily because of Donald Trump). I want it to end and thank God it will very soon.
I predicted months ago that Trump had lost the election because of his demeaning statement about Mexican immigrants and his call for a Berlin-type wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. I said then that Trump would lose because his statements offended most Latinos who see the nativist, anti-immigrant movement in this country that supports Trump as also being anti-Latino. Lack of respect and sensibility toward immigrants and especially undocumented immigrants is seen by U.S.-born Latinos as a lack of respect and appreciation for them as well.
Latinos were indispensable in the election of President Barack Obama in 2008 and especially in his re-election in 2012. The Latino vote in key battleground states such as Florida, Colorado, Nevada, but also in Virginia and Pennsylvania provided the edge for the president’s election and re-election. I have no doubt that this will prove to be the case again in this election.
According to news sources, there is a significant spike in Latino early voting and many more are registered to vote in this election. This increase in the potential Latino vote has made Arizona into a battleground state that may vote Democratic, something that has not happened in years. Indeed, even red Texas is in play because of the Latino vote.
In my opinion, despite the recent and unprofessional action by the FBI clearly to influence the election in Trump’s favor with regard to emails that may or may not involve Hillary Clinton, she will, I predict, win a decisive victory in the Electoral College and the majority of the battleground states will go in her column because of the Latino vote.
I believe that I can tell my students on Nov. 9 that once again, as certainly as in 2012, Latinos elected an American president. This should once again send out a strong message that the road to the White House is now clearly linked to the Latino vote. Latinos will spare us the nightmare of a Trump presidency.
