In deep-red Roswell, Latino surge prompts political action

*I like this story a lot. There is so much talk about getting Latinos registered to vote and then to the polls on election day, it’s the same conversation we’ve been having for several decades. This story, though, is a pin-point illustration of where the Latino vote actually sways presidential elections. Roswell, NM, is a conservative bastion in a swing state. But Latinos have changed the demographic profile and with it a potential political change. We should be keeping an eye on this little community. VL

By Joey Peters, NM Political Report

On the surface, Roswell seems an unlikely place for this type of political organizing. As far as ideologically shades go, the city’s is deep red. Republicans dominate city and county governments. All the state lawmakers in the area are Republicans.

But the city’s demographics are rapidly changing. Latinos have officially made up the majority of Roswell since 2010, when the U.S. Census estimated theymade up 53 percent of the population. This marked a 9 percent growth in the Latino population since the previous U.S. Census survey in 2000.

While Republicans gained some ground on the Latino vote in the 2014 elections over 2010, nearly two-thirds still cast ballots nationally for Democratsthat year.

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