Whether a reflection of the ever-increasing Latino demographic in the U.S. or a result of political strategy in an election year — or both — the use of Spanish has risen to historic levels among politicians. And a study by The Hispanic Council reveals just how much those numbers are impacting the House of Representatives and the Senate.
According to the study, which takes into account the use of Spanish either in posts on the social platform X or in the Spanish-language versions of the politicians' official websites, 47 out of 100 senators used Spanish in their digital communications with citizens, a massive increase from the 13 that did it back in 2018. The number is even more telling when considering that only six senators are of Hispanic descent.
In The House of Representatives,113 out of 435 members use Spanish in their digital communications (25.6%) a whopping 45% increase since 2018, when The Hispanic Council first began its research on the use of Spanish in American politics. In the Lower House, 50 congress members are of Hispanic origin.
When making distinctions between the two major parties, the study reveals that, although the Democratic Party continues to lead in the use of Spanish in both chambers (over 70% of Democratic senators employ it in their digital communication)Republicans are increasingly embracing the language, doubling the number of senators using it in just two years.
Politicians are well aware, especially during pre-election periods, that around 19% of the population is Hispanic, which means more than 64 million people. And each year, that number increases by one million. Furthermore, more than 30 million Latinos are eligible to vote in these elections, a number higher than that of African Americans, as estimated by the Pew Research Center. However, traditionally, just over half of them actually go to the polls. According to the Educational Fund of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), at least 17.5 million Hispanics will vote.
Among its conclusions, the study points out the following:
"the gap between Democratic and Republican votes among Hispanics continues to narrow. Over the last two decades, Democrats have controlled 65-70% of the Hispanic vote, leaving Republicans with figures close to 30%. In 2022, Democrats fell to 60%, while Republicans managed to secure 40% of the Hispanic vote. The 2024 presidential elections are a crucial date to closely monitor this trend.
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