Republican in every presidential election but one from 1952 to 1988 and leading a national movement against taxes, California has become the crown jewel of the Democratic presidential map. Every statewide official is currently a Democrat, and the party holds wide majorities in the legislature even as Republicans have made statehouse gains in blue states like Wisconsin and Michigan under President Obama.One key factor in the shift: A political awakening among the state’s Hispanic voters, who flocked to the polls to combat an anti-immigrant campaign with parallels to GOP front-runner Donald Trump’s current run.n 1994, Republican Gov. Pete Wilson ran for re-election alongside ballot measure Proposition 187, which barred undocumented immigrants from government services. Proposition 187 passed easily and Wilson succeeded in his bid, but the long-term damage proved severe. Latino voter registration soared and the new voters who hit the polls were solidly Democratic. The trend spilled over into national politics as well: Hispanic turnout surged in 1996 and exit polls pegged President Bill Clinton’s share at 75%.MSNBC

Mr. Bush won more than 40% of the Hispanic vote in 2004, yet eight years later Mitt Romney would win only 27% of this fast-growing group—a percentage that Mr. Trump apparently thinks is far too high. Recent history shows that Hispanics are swing voters in national elections who have been driven into the arms of Democrats over the past decade because GOP rhetoric has made them feel unwanted WSJ