The use of Latinx by Democrats to describe the Hispanic or Latino community could prove disastrous in upcoming elections as 40% of registered voters of Hispanic/Latino origin residing in the U.S. said the term bothers or offends them to some degree and 30% said they were less likely to support a politician or political organization using it, reports Politico.
Just 2% of those polled refer to themselves as "Latinx" while 68% call themselves "Hispanic" and 21% favor "Latino" or "Latina" to describe their ethnic background, according to the survey from a top Democrat firm specializing in Latino outreach.
Latinx has been used by journalists, politicians, colleges, universities, and corporations as a gender-neutral alternative to Latino or Latina and has gained momentum over the past decade.
It’s not the first time the term has come under scrutiny.
A Pew Research poll released last August found that just 3% of U.S. Hispanics used the term while 25% had heard about it.
"The numbers suggest that using 'Latinx' is a violation of the political Hippocratic Oath, which is to first do no electoral harm," pollster Fernand Amandi, whose firm advised Barack Obama’s successful Hispanic outreach nationwide in his two presidential campaigns, told Politico. "Why are we using a word that is preferred by only 2%, but offends as many as 40% of those voters we want to win?"
Virginia Republican Attorney General-elect Jason Miyares, who will be the first Hispanic to hold the office in the state — said the word turns off Latinos.
"By insisting on using the incorrect term Latinx, progressives are engaging in a type of cultural Marxism, a recast of societal norms," he told Politico. "Latinos don't use the term — only upper-educated white liberals who hardly interact with the Latino community. I believe that every time they use the term Latinx, they lose another Latino vote."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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