ABSTRACT
The beginning of a new millennium provides an important benchmark by which to assess Hispanic involvement in the U.S. political system. Over the final decades of the twentieth century, important developments unfolded in the nature and scope of Hispanic participation in American politics. Much attention focused on the burgeoning numbers of Hispanics in the U.S. population and their potential impact on American political institutions and the public policy-making process. Although pronouncements of expanded political power for Hispanics tended to overstate the case, by the century’s end, Hispanics legitimately claimed attention and recognition from political observers, the mass media, policy makers, and scholars as a significant sector of the American body politic.
