It’s laughable that in 2020, this country still needs to be reminded, Sesame Street style, that Latinos are not a monolith & the Latino vote is a mirage. This misconception comes from how little u bother knowing us, how superficially u cover us & how absent we are in newsrooms.

Off the top of my head, here's just a few reasons why "the Latinos" can fall all over the political spectrum on just about any given topic:

1) Geography. There's endless political differences between Cubanos, Mexicanos, Argentinos, Dominicanos, Central Americans, etc.

2) Religion. We've got a ton of Catholics, but our connection to God/ church / spirituality is complicated depending on our guilt levels, how hardcore our moms were growing up, generational shifts, political views like gay rights/abortion, etc.

If you've ever had a tia turn evangelica, you'll appreciate the big rifts that exist between religions.

There's also our gazillion interpretations of la Virgen and Jesus Chist.

You've got Latino Jews, Santeria worshipers, curandero believers, atheists, the agnostic, etc.

3) Skin color. From the moment you're born, ur skin color, eye color, hair color determines where u fall on a spectrum of real & perceived Latino racism that vastly impacts ur lot in life & your view of the world. You don't shed the impact of this racism when u move to the U.S.

4) Generational Impact: Some Latinos who have been in the US for 4, 5 generations. Their ancestors existed on this soil before the Declaration of Independence was signed.

Other are 1st generation or immigrants. Some live with their heart split between the U.S. & their homeland.

Wealth: The kind of wealth you were born into or have attained in the U.S. can have a big impact on how you vote.

In this country, Latinos make up a significant part of the service industry, but we're also business owners, doctors, journalists, architects, politicians, etc.

6) Past politics, wars: Due to U.S. intervention & other reasons, there's been plenty of turmoil in Latin America.

Often when immigrants come north, they bring those political views with them. Salvadorans, e.g., are still split along political lines from the 1980 civil war.

7) Assimilation Level: There's lots of pressure to "Americanize" in the U.S.

To shed your language. Your accent. Your connections to your traditions, culture, home country.

Where you fall on this push and pull of your identity can also influence your political views.

8) Immigration. Sure, immigration, but not in the predictable "Open up the borders & save all the immigrants" kind of way.

Latinos, for all the reasons stated above, can have vastly different views on every aspect of immigration: the wall, deportations, even child separation

There's so many other factors that influence what Latinos do at the ballot box:

Our indigenous roots/erasure
Family alliances, bonds
Feminism/Misogony
Where we end up living in the U.S. (i.e. Latinos in Alabama vs. Latinos in L.A.)
Our faith or lack of faith in this country

Am I missing something?

Please chime in. I'd love to hear your thoughts

Please think twice before you lump Latinos into a single category & stop chasing the "Latino vote" unicorn each election

We make up 1/5 of this country. Focus on us year-round

Better yet, make space for us in newsrooms, publishing houses, Hollywood so we can represent ourselves

I should add that on top of all of this there's many other things that sway Latinos, the same way other voters are swayed:

- What they read on social media
- How engaged/not engaged they are in politics
- How good/bad their life has been under the current administration

Exactly. https://twitter.com/HowChrisCsIt/status/1323864336352227329?s=20

The “Latino Vote” tonight #Election2020

I encourage you to read some of the great work my @latimes colleagues have been doing on Latinos and #Elections2020 https://twitter.com/thecindycarcamo/status/1324006348711845888

More on 8) A key thing that may impact how “Latinos” vote is the immig status of loved ones. Some families have been composed of U.S. citizens for generations. Others include a mix of citizens, perm residents, visa overstayers, TPS holders, relatives who had to cross the border..

One more: military service. In some cases, I’ve seen so many factors be at play that would make you believe a “Latino” would vote for a democrat, but they don’t because they’ve picked up more conservative, Republican values after serving in the Army, Marines, Navy a few years

And of course, as several of you have aptly pointed out, education level can be a significant factor. But being more educated doesn’t mean you’ll be more liberal. That piece of the puzzle is influenced by all the other variables listed above.

Next time u feel inclined to put Latinos in a box, think of plátanos. Yes, plantains. Give Latinos plantains & they’ll come up with a thousand different ways to cook them depending where they’re from..or maybe they’ll toss them b/c they can’t stand plantains Case in point https://twitter.com/bermudezwrites/status/1283198951944929280

After reading this thread, I hope u see how silly & out-of-touch politicians come across when they try to woo the “Latino vote” by 1) eating a burrito at a Mexican restaurant 2) dancing a jig to a popular Latino song 3) Uttering a few Dora the Explorer phrases in broken Spanish

More on 6) Due to past homeland politics, trauma, some Latinos may be more triggered by U.S. movements that feel to them like some version of “fascism” “communism” “socialism” they’ve lived w/ before. Some politicians play on those fears, others don’t understand the nuance at all