Geraldo Cadava

Geraldo Cadava is an associate professor of history and Latina and Latino studies at Northwestern University. He is the author of Standing on Common Ground: The Making of a Sunbelt Borderland. In the lead-up to every election cycle, pundits predict that Latino Americans will overwhelmingly vote in favor of the Democratic candidate. And it’s true—Latino voters do tilt Democratic. But the statistics belie a complicated picture. After decades of investment and political courtship, the Republican party has established a longer and stronger bond with Hispanics than the Democratic party. How is this possible for a party so associated with draconian immigration and racial policies? In The Hispanic Republican: The Shaping of an American Political Identity, from Nixon to Trump (Ecco) Cadava offers insights into the complicated dynamic between Latino liberalism and conservatism, which will impact American elections for years to come. Rick Perlstein, bestselling author of Nixonland and The Invisible Bridge noted that “Thoughtful, fair-minded, and learned, Cadava’s eye-opening book will teach experts on American politics things they didn’t even know they didn’t know.”