Voters Again Reject Republican Fear Tactics on Immigration

The American people once again rejected the Republican Party's divisive fear mongering on immigration yesterday at the polls, just as they did a year ago. In Virginia and New York Republicans lost ground despite using fear over immigration to try to distract from their Party's failures on border security and immigration reform, and after failing to offer voters real leadership.

"No fixation on immigration," was the headline in the Washington Post looking at the races in Virginia. As the Post noted, voters "chose candidates...not out of anger over illegal immigration but based on party affiliation, a preference for moderation and strong views on such key issues as residential growth and traffic congestion." [Washington Post, 11/07/07] Similarly the New York Times reported that the focus on immigration "had not proved to be the electoral boon Republicans had hoped for in local elections, despite the Republicans' aggressive efforts to exploit" the issue of drivers' licenses for undocumented immigrants in the state of New York. [New York Times, 11/07/07]

A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll of Americans nationwide released just this morning echoed those results, showing the top five issues on voters' minds heading toward the presidential election are the economy, Iraq, health care, terrorism, and Iran. According to the poll, immigration also came in below other economic issues including gas prices, poverty, and taxes. [CNN Political Ticker, 11/07/07]

"The Republican Party should be ashamed of its ongoing reliance on fear and the scapegoating of groups of people to try to win elections," said DNC Hispanic Caucus acting Chair Ramona Martinez. "As yesterday's elections showed, the American people's values and priorities don't match up with the Republican Party's Ann Coulter-brand of hate and divisiveness. Yesterday's elections confirmed that when Democrats show up, talk about our values, and offer real leadership on the issues that matter most to the American people, we can win anywhere in the country."