CNN Reporter Eugene Scott Speaks on Another Side to the Election

(Featured Photo: cnn.com)

By: Jessica Lizza

Cronkite Special to AZLatinos.com

The election was a shock to some people and a much-desired outcome to others. One thing almost everyone has in common however, is the endless discussions that the winning candidate has mentioned. Eugene Scott, a CNN politics reporter, recently wrote an article titled “Trump’s Old Foes Offer Congratulations” in which he made a statement that Republican nominee Donald Trump “ended up doing better with black and Latino voters than the 2012 candidate [Mitt Romney].” According to NBC News, 29 percent of the Latino vote and 8 percent of the black vote went to Trump.  While in 2012, Romney won 27 percent of the Latino vote and 6 percent of the black vote. The numbers only vary by two percentage points each, but according to Scott there could be a few reasons for it.

The election results proved that more things maybe have been in play than immigration issues. According to the research Scott has done, black and Latino voters tend to be more socially conservative than people realize. He said, “Latino and black voters have higher percentages on average of church participation or Judeo Christian beliefs than white voters in general.” He thinks that their faith and traditional values have a lot to do with the results of the election. Based on his recent reporting during the election season, he said, “I do think there are significant percentages of black and brown voters who are more conservative and have problems with the idea of a woman being a global leader.”

Scott also mentions the distrust of Democratic nominee Hilary Clinton when he brought up the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, commonly referred to as the crime bill. According to the crime bill fact sheet by the U.S Department of Justice, the bill “provides for enhanced penalties for alien smuggling, illegal reentry after deportation and other immigration-related crimes.” The fact sheet also says, “$1.8 billion to reimburse states for incarceration of illegal criminal aliens” and “enhanced penalties for failure to depart the United States after a deportation order or reentry after deportation.” Scott said that the Clinton name could bring up issues because Bill Clinton, her husband, put that bill forth.

The concept of Trump receiving more black and Latino votes than Romney did in 2012 could also come down to their names in general. Trump has a more widely recognized name than Romney did, as well as deeper relationships with black and Latino voters, according to Scott.