The decisive win by Barack Obama in Tuesday’s re-elections demonstrated how both ethnic and generational shifts in population were in favor of Democrats while working against the Republican Party.
In explaining this gradual shift in diversity of the American population, Paul Taylor, at the Pew Research Center, said, “The nonwhite vote has been growing – tick, tick, tick – slowly, steadily. Every four-year cycle the electorate gets a little bit more diverse. And it’s going to continue. This is a very powerful demographic that’s changing our politics and our destiny.”
According to other analysts, with Latinos, Asian and first-time voters such as young people and immigrants casting their votes for the Democrats, the Republican Party might have to rethink their strategy in coming elections and make efforts to expand their base beyond nonwhite Americans.
It was estimated that 80 percent of black voters, Latinos and nonwhite voters voted for Obama while the President also obtained 63 percent of young voters as well. In comparison, Romney won 57 percent of the vote as opposed to 41 percent who voted for President Obama.
Data has revealed that the United States will become a ‘majority minority’ nation over the next few decades but the impact this change has had on politics was very apparent after the Presidential elections.
Also, earlier this year, the percent of ethnic minority births in the United States topped 50 percent for the first time with Latinos holding the distinction of being the fastest-growing ethnic group in the country.
Obama, with a black father and white mother, is the first ever ethnic minority President of the United States.