Race & Ethnicity

This report examines the turnout, demographic characteristics, opinions and voting patterns of the Hispanic electorate in Democratic primaries and caucuses held so far in 2008.

This week's primaries show that, results in Wisconsin aside, pre-primary polls may either over- or underestimate support for Obama depending on state racial demographics.

North Carolina's Hispanic population is the 12th largest in the nation. About 595,000 Hispanics reside in North Carolina, representing 1% of all Hispanics in the United States. There are 120,000 eligible Hispanic voters in North Carolina, less than 1% of all U.S. Hispanic eligible voters.

Pennsylvania's Hispanic population is the 14th largest in the nation. About 522,000 Hispanics reside in Pennsylvania, 1% of all Hispanics in the United States. There are 261,000 eligible Hispanic voters in Pennsylvania, about 1.5% of all U.S. Hispanic eligible voters.

Rhode Island's Hispanic population is the 35th largest in the nation. About 120,000 Hispanics reside in Rhode Island, less than 1% of all Hispanics in the United States. There are 43,000 eligible Hispanic voters in Rhode Island, less than 1% of all U.S. Hispanic eligible voters.

Texas's Hispanic population is the second largest in the nation. Nearly 8.4 million Hispanics reside in Texas, 19% of all Hispanics in the United States. There are 3.6 million eligible Hispanic voters in Texas, 20% of all U.S. Hispanic eligible voters.

If current trends continue, immigrants arriving from 2005 to 2050 and their descendants will account for 82% of the population growth in the United States during this period, according to new projections from the Pew Research Center.

If current trends continue, the population of the United States will rise to 438 million in 2050, from 296 million in 2005, and 82% of the increase will be due to immigrants arriving from 2005 to 2050 and their U.S.-born descendants.

Virginia's Hispanic population is the 16th largest in the nation. More than 466,000 Hispanics reside in Virginia, 1% of all Hispanics in the United States. There are 149,000 eligible Hispanic voters in Virginia, less than 1% of all U.S. Hispanic eligible voters.

Race still plays a role in U.S. politics but it showed up in surprising ways in tallies from Democratic primary elections so far this year.