1. Black - Latino Electoral Coalitions: Co-Ethnic Leader Cues and Candidate Preferences in Local Elections.
- Author
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Benjamin, Andrea
- Subjects
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ELECTORAL coalitions , *LOCAL elections , *POLITICAL activity of African Americans , *HISPANIC Americans , *VOTING , *RACIAL & ethnic attitudes , *POLITICAL participation - Abstract
It is often assumed that given their shared status as disadvantaged minorities, relative to Whites, Blacks and Latinos should work together politically. However, as recent elections in Los Angeles, Houston, Miami, and New York show, sometimes Blacks and Latinos work together and sometimes they do not. Previous works on biracial coalitions found that when certain conditions are met, coalitions form. Scholars argued: groups had to be outside the governing coalition; groups needed to have similar ideological preferences; minorities needed to have a critical mass in the city; and group leaders needed to forge the coalition. With the increased ethnic diversity in cities, scholars considered the possibility of Black-Latino coalitions without contributions from Whites. These works focus on the role of racial attitudes in Black-Latino coalition formation and conclude that Black-Latino coalitions are unlikely. Yet the voting record is not so clear. To addresses this disconnect I focus on the role of co-ethnic leaders' endorsements on Black and Latino vote choice. Using data from an experiment, I show that when race/ethnicity is made salient in elections, Blacks and Latinos will rely on cues from co-ethnic leaders when casting votes. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2009