Latino Prepresentation in State Houses and Congress - 9780521198974

This book argues that Latino representation in U.S. legislative institutions is shaped not only by demographics, but also by legislative institutional design, as well as elitedriven methods, features of the electoral system, and the increasing mainstreaming of Latinos in American society. The election of Latino legislators in the United States is thus complex and varied. This book provides evidence on how successful Latinos have been in winning state legislative and congressional districts in which they have no natural advantage. In particular, this book demonstrates that Latino candidates benefit from higher percentages of Latino citizens in the state, more liberal citizenries, and citizen legislatures. Jason P. Casellas argues that the legislatures most conducive to the election of Latino candidates are Florida, New Mexico, and California, whereas the least conducive are the U.S. House and New York.

Jason P. Casellas is Assistant Professor of Government and Associate Director of the Irma Rangel Public Policy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin. He specializes in American politics, with specific research and teaching interests in Latino politics, legislative politics, and state and local politics. He is the recipient of numerous fellowships, including a Princeton President's Fellowship, an American Political Science Association Fellowship, and a Ford Motor Company Fellowship. His dissertation won third place in a nationwide interdisciplinary competition for the best dissertation given by the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education and the Educational Testing Service. In 2007-2008, he was the Samuel DuBois Cook Postdoctoral Fellow at Duke University. In 2009-2010, he was a visiting postdoctoral Fellow at the United States Studies Centre in Sydney, Australia. His work has appeared in the Journal of Politics, Legislative Studies Quarterly, Political Research Quarterly, Qualitative Methods, and the Journal of California Politics and Policy.