How to Capture the Dominican Vote (Part 1)
May 8, 2008
Today’s guest blogger is Mr. Lu, a Dominican-American born in the Greatest City on the Planet, Lawrence, Massachusetts. Educated at some fancy school in Massachusetts and an even fancier school in CT, Mr. Lu currently writes for dr1.com, while pursuing other interests like girls, books, basketball and rock and roll.
The illusive Dominican vote is just that: illusive. For many years, among minority constituents, the Dominican vote has been the one most difficult to capture, leading many candidates to disregard the Dominican vote and move on to other minority voters that could help guarantee a candidate success at the polls. When we see today’s politicians whoring for Black votes, we hear them speaking with southern twangs at Southern Baptists churches and praising the works of MLK. When the candidate wants to capture that Mexican/Latino vote we see them standing next to a Mejicano whilst wearing a cowboy hat. When the candidate wants to make a stance against communism we see them in little Havana dropping Dominoes like they’re hot and when it’s time to court the Puerto Rican vote the candidate is down in San Juan standing next to the governor drinking Bacardi and saying thank you in that terribly annoying gringo Spanish: “Muchos Gracias!” But when have we ever seen that same presidential candidate in Washington Heights or in Santo Domingo?
Traditionally, the Dominican voter has abstained from voting in US elections for a myriad of reasons. Some Dominicans have feared that voting in the US would negate their Dominican citizenship. Though this was true at one point, times have changed and voting in both countries is now encouraged. Another reason why many Dominicans never voted in the US elections was the continued allegiance and interest in the home elections. While Americans were worried about bi-partisan politics, Dominicans have always worried about PRSC/PLD/PRD power struggles rendering the attention towards US elections almost nullified. Also consider the language barrier, the lack of social integration into the larger American fabric and a dissociation of political ideologies that have kept Dominican voters away from the polls. Will this change?
The answer is yes. The Dominican community is entering its fifth generation in the US and has, in the last 20 years, established itself as a formidable minority group. The need to attend to the Dominican community is becoming more apparent, but what will it take for Dominicans to vote in numbers?
The truth is that the Dominicans who will be voting in this election, in my opinion, will be younger Dominicans who have grown up in the US and have been integrated for more than two decades into the American way of life. This in itself will influence the trends of other Dominican generations. I am speaking specifically referring to 18-35 year old Dominicans who will, if the candidates play it right, have the opportunity to make an impact on this year’s election.
How can this be, you might ask? Well first of all this demographic of voters, the 18-35 year old group, is now a more educated group than their parents and has a better sense of the American political process. Add that this demographic, of which I am a part, has a better appreciation of how voting and the political system affects them directly. This generation has also grown up with more affluence and more education which translates into a more empowered group of ready-to-go voters. This range of Dominicans is by far the most educated and their social/political awareness must be harnessed now, before they become disenfranchised and dissociated from the American political framework.
Though this generation of 18-35 year old Dominicans have rejected many of their parents’ political ideologies and are more integrated into the American fabric than previous generations, they are still political by nature and often inline with their parents’ political heritage. This could be a key component in the arsenal of any candidate wishing to secure a place in political office. The Dominican voter is ready to shift its focus towards the American political system; the question is whether or not the candidates have a place for them in the campaign.
Part II of this post will outline “how” to get the Dominican vote.
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FWIW, my son Steve (a DR1 forum poster), with triple Dominican/Venezuelan/American nationality, a US Air Force veteran, living in Atlanta, Georgia, and currently in Santo Domingo, told me yesterday that he will vote for Obama in the November general elections.
I’m pretty sure few Dominicans are Republicans.
I’d be curious to see if they favor Hillary over Obama or vice versa.
Any idea, Mr. Lu?
RHM,
Yes,
There are some Dominicans who are Republican, though more than you would expect. Part of this is due to economics. As was once explained to me, when you start making more money, you want to start keeping more of it, so you vote Republican. There is a sector of the Dominican community, especially more affluent Dominicans, who tend to lean right. But this isn’t anything new with Latino voters as Mexican and Cuban Americans have leaned right in the past. This in it self can be traced back to a few factors, like the fact that policy wise there is a certain level of conservatism associated with Republicans, in line with Latino social values, an increased value of “Americaness” associated with the Republican party and a religious factor. These, as well as some other issues, would place the Latino voter, at least on the surface on the right side of the spectrum. (Mind you that I would assume many Latino voter dissociate George Bush policy from the overall Republican platform, but that in it self is conjecture)
As for voting between Clinton and Obama, the vote goes clearly to Clinton, especially among older Dominican voters. Though many my age (in the college student age) are attracted to Obama, the Clinton name brings back great memories of prosperity for many Latinos so it only makes sense to vote for her. She is a name. Latinos loved Bill and did well in his 8 years, so it is only fair that many Latinos would support Clinton. They recognize her, they recognize the brand, she is from NY, which many Dominicans relate to. She also visits here, has on many occasions, and has said she loves the DR. So in terms of patriotism Dominicans feel a connection to her. She is Hillary. Add to the fact that her name is easily pronounced as opposed to the “Hussein Obama” guy. (Yes, misinformation is highly effective in the Dominican community). The Obama camp has lost the Latino vote, in my opinion, and from what I know has done little to capture it.
Mr. Lu
Lots of Amercian-Dominicans are Republicans.