The importance of Chicago’s Latino vote

*This is the piece I’ve been wanting to read – how Chuy Garcia’s candidacy in Chicago relates to the larger, national Latino political narative. VL

By Esther Cepeda, Washington Post Writers Group/GazetteXtra

CHICAGO — Who would have thought that something as seemingly inevitable as the re-election of Rahm Emanuel as mayor of Chicago would thrust Hispanics into the national spotlight?

Four outspent, outgunned challengers forced President Obama’s former right-hand man into a mayoral runoff, the first the city has ever had. And Chicagoans are left with a showdown that pits establishment power and big money against population and the city’s unions.

Now, Emanuel, aka “Rhambo,” aka “Mayor 1 percent,” is running against a Mexico native named Jesus with a huge bristly mustache and a nickname, “Chuy,” that sounds like the name of a Wookiee from “Star Wars.”

Yet Jesus Garcia’s candidacy and runner-up status don’t offer any real insights into the racial and ethnic tensions of a town once dubbed “Beirut by the lake.” The first round of the election was essentially an “Anyone But Rahm” referendum, and among the four non-Rahms, Garcia had the most money.

His surprising success does, however, generate several questions that have the potential to shape views of the Hispanic electorate well beyond the Midwest.

Why?

Because Hispanics are already known for weak turnout—U.S. Census figures have shown for years that Latinos vote in far smaller numbers than those who are eligible. An internal Democratic National Committee document that was leaked last week noted that nationwide Latino turnout in 2014 was the worst of the last three election cycles.

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