Donald Trump’s Win Bucks Warnings From GOP, Democrats to Improve Hispanic Outreach

The Wall Street Journal reports:

For years, people in both parties warned Republicans that they would never retake the White House if the party didn’t offer Hispanic voters more welcoming rhetoric and adopt a more liberal immigration policy. Donald Trump proved them wrong.

Far from the support collapsing, Mr. Trump drew 29% of Hispanic voters, slightly better than the GOP’s 27% share in 2012, according to exit polls. He still lost the group by a lopsided 36-point margin, but that was narrower than the 44-point disadvantage that hobbled the party in the last presidential election.

The election results offer both good news and cautions for a Republican Party that has worried about its inability to gain ground among the nation’s growing minority groups while its core support—white voters—is shrinking as a share of the electorate.

By drawing nearly three in 10 Hispanic voters, Mr. Trump has shown that the GOP has a durable floor of support from the group, even for a candidate who offended many Latinos. Exit polls found that Hispanic voters who backed Mr. Trump tended to have higher incomes—he won 38% of those with family income above $100,000—and they tended to view terrorism and foreign policy, rather than the economy, as top issues. Mr. Trump also won an outright majority of Hispanics who call themselves conservative.

Congressman Luis Gutierrez's Latino registration machine fails to take down Donald Trump.