Can Latinos Change Utah From Red to Blue?

By Victor Landa, NewsTaco

It’s known as the reddest of the red states. And a recent article in the Ogden Standard-Examiner reiterated the fact:

In a state considered among the reddest in the United States, the increasing number of Hispanic voters in Utah could eventually begin to soften some of that red influence.

According to the U.S., Census 9% of the population in Utah is Latino, or about 200,000 people. In places like Ogden, where Latinos are concentrated, the number jumps to 30%. Most of the voters in that slice of the population tend to favor the Democratic Party, and Utah politicos are starting to pay attention. It’s something Utah Democrats aren’t taking for granted, according to the Standard-Examiner story:

(State Democratic Chairman Jim) Dabakis claims Hispanics in Utah may be increasingly Democratic in inclination, but they aren’t comfortable with the assumption. He said state Democrats will hire a full time Hispanic community organizer in the near future to get Hispanics increasingly involved in local issues.

The statistic that everyone is looking at is this, mirrored in Utah as it is across the country:

50,000 Hispanic teens turn 18 every month in the U.S. … the largest percentage of Hispanics in the Beehive State is younger than 18, so the trend toward more voters of Latin descent in Utah will continue to rise.

Already, in the reddest of red states, there is a trend.

…there are historical highlights for Hispanics in Utah from the last election. Robles was re-elected as assistant Democratic Whip in the Senate, and in the House, Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck, D-Salt Lake, was elected as assistant Democratic Whip — the first Latina to ever serve in a leadership position in the House.

[Photo by CountyLemonade]

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