ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the Mexican American electorate in Texas. Texas Anglos are also opposed to cuts in social programs, but by a margin of less than two to one, and fairly evenly divided on defense spending. It appears that Texas Mexicans and Anglos are polarized in their views on cultural and language issues, but otherwise do not differ markedly on domestic and international issues. The growth of the Chicano electorate is mitigated by the fact that as many as one in four Texas Mexicans are not US citizens. Participation rates in the last four general elections suggest institutionalized high levels of nonvoting among Chicanos in that the gap between Latinos and non-Latinos has more than doubled since 1976. In the 1984 election, however, 27 percent of Hispanic males and females found the Reagan candidacy equally attractive; yet in 1988, both voted by twelve percentage points higher for the Democratic nominee than they had in 1984.
