Whitman paid a high price for Latino distrust of GOP

Candidate Meg Whitman visited with workers in a Los Angeles steel supply company in October, making a bid for the Latino vote.

A former strategist says the candidate lost so conclusively because her party continues to alienate the state's fastest-growing voter group.

George Skelton
Capitol Journal
December 20, 2010
From Sacramento

Meg Whitman's former lead spokesman is starting to speak up about the candidate's losing race for governor. And he's shouting about the need for Republicans to stop the demagoguery over illegal immigration.

Senior advisor Rob Stutzman isn't exactly spilling his guts about the former EBay chief's spectacular thumping. The billionaire lost to low-budget Jerry Brown by 54% to 41%, despite spending a record $160 million-plus, roughly $142 million of it her own money.

But the veteran Republican strategist is blaming the mini-landslide size of Whitman's loss on some ugly dust-ups over illegal immigration that alienated Latinos from the GOP.

On Nov. 2, a record 22% of the California electorate was Latino. They voted heavily for Democrat Brown — somewhere between 64% and 80%, depending on which poll you believe.

Whatever the real figure, it should scare the GOP because Latinos are by far California's fastest-growing voter group.

(More here.)