Low Latino voter turnout likely to influence Arizona’s midterm election

PHOENIX — Less than two weeks away from the midterm election, KTAR political expert Mike O’Neil said a majority of Latinos will vote the Democratic ticket but turnout would be low.

O’Neil said that could have an impact on two congressional races, where Democrats Ann Kirkpatrick and Ron Barber are in tight races to keep their seats.

“Those are toss-up races,” he said. “This is a Republican year because it’s the sixth year of a Democratic president. Off years favor Republicans in general and the president doesn’t have especially high job approval ratings and opponents are trying to tie congressional candidates to an unpopular president.”

O’Neil said the governor’s race was starting to trend toward Republican Doug Ducey over Democrat Fred DuVal.

“The absence of Hispanic enthusiasm can have a lot to do with that and could have made the difference,” O’Neil said.

A survey from Latino Decisions found Democrats nationwide still hold a 2-to-1 edge over Republicans among Latino voters but found Democrats have lost support in terms of numbers.