The growth of the Latino population is the most significant demographic
shift in the United States today. Yet growth alone cannot explain this population's increasing
impact on the electorate; nor can a parsing of its subethnicities. In the most significant analysis
to date on the growing political activation of Latinos, Ricardo Ramírez identifies when and
where Latino participation in the political process has come about as well as its many motivations.
Using a state-centered approach, the author focuses on the interaction between demographic
factors and political contexts, from long-term trends in party competition, to the resources and
mobilization efforts of ethnic organizations and the Spanish-language media, to the perception
of political threat as a basis for mobilization.The picture that emerges is one
of great temporal and geographic variation. In it, Ramírez captures the transformation of
Latinos' civic and political reality and the engines behind the evolution of this crucial
electorate.Race, Ethnicity, and Politics