Political Opinion and Distinctiveness: The Case of Hispanic Ethnicity

Despite a proliferation of research treating Hispanics as a homogeneous political group, important questions regarding the nature and structure of Hispanic public opinion remain unanswered. Are Hispanic self-identifiers similar enough in their political preferences to be analyzed as a political group? As a group, are Hispanic preferences distinctive enough to be distinguished empirically from other racial and ethnic constituencies? Using National Election Studies data I evaluate intra-group similarity and inter-group differences. I find evidence of strikingly similar intra-group opinion, and I find Hispanic preferences are distinctive, relative to Anglos and blacks, even after controlling for socioeconomic status (SES). Moreover, SES variables impact Hispanic opinion and Anglo opinion differently. By exploring the statistical interactions between Hispanic ethnicity and the SES variables I am able to illustrate ways in which Hispanics’ shared experiences differ from those of Anglos and lead to distinctive political views.