Latinxs in the 2024 Election: Arizona’s Proposition 314 and the Rise of White Supremacist Ideology

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Abstract

By 2030, one-third of Arizona’s population will be Hispanic, as projected by demographers. Arizona’s demographic shift brings about a wave of speculation about the impacts of Latinxs on the political landscape. However, equally important to understanding the political landscapes is an analysis of racial ideology. As we enter an era where multi-culturalism is the norm, but unequal social structures remain, the study of racial ideology proves critical to understanding our political climate. In this article, I assess the role and influence of white supremacist racial ideology vis a vis Latinxs using the 2024 election results in Arizona as a case study. I examine the political rhetoric and voting trends around the notorious Arizona Proposition 314, a “border security” measure that criminalizes undocumented immigrants in the state. Using participant observations and recordings of state-legislature hearings, radio and election ads, and election maps and exit polls relating to Proposition 314, I find that the persistent attacks on undocumented immigrants throughout the 2024 election cycle represent a reinforcing of white supremacist, gendered, and carceral ideologies. Yet, as undocumented Latinxs are framed as sexually violent, criminals, and drug traffickers, Proposition 314’s broad popular support—even in counties with high numbers of Latinx voters—reveals how the racial boundaries of whiteness simultaneously expand and contract around Latinxs. I argue that the 2024 passing of Proposition 314 in Arizona marks an entrenchment of a Bonilla-Silvan “color-blind,” “tri-racial” society characterized by multi-racial demographics and hegemonic ideologies of white supremacy, neoliberalism, and heteronormativity. This phenomenon is coupled with a promise of assimilation and acceptance for Latinxs and other groups willing to uphold racial, class, and gendered hierarchies. To combat these dangerous ideological turns, I make an urgent call to supplement our activism with mass popular strategies that emphasize critical race, class, gender, and solidarity in accessible ways.

Author

• Carolina Hernandez, University of Pittsburgh