Former President Bill Clinton said the low Latino voter turnout for the midterm elections might have been connected to the immigration reform executive action delay.

During the 10th anniversary of the Clinton presidential library, Clinton said Democrats had a "bit of a loss" of the Latino vote.

"Perhaps because the president (Barack Obama) didn't issue then the immigration order but it was a tough call for him cause had he done so, then the others would've lost by even more," said Clinton. "It was a difficult call."

Obama had originally scheduled to announce his immigration reform executive action by late August or early September, but he delayed the announcement until after Nov. 4.

Clinton noted there was a "collapse" of the youth vote while the African-American turnout was "fairly steady."

The former president said emphasis on certain issues could have made a difference among a few too-close-to-call elections. Clinton emphasized on the data provided by exit polls, which claimed Democratic voters wanted their candidates to talk about student-loan reform, equal pay and job creation through infrastructure projects. Clinton, who campaigned for more than 47 candidates for this year's midterm elections, said "almost 100 percent" of Democrats he supported spoke about such issues.

"But we didn't have, again, a national advertising campaign," Clinton added. ""That might have made all the difference in a couple of close races, but it would not have changed the larger outcome."

"The Republicans ... I know enough of them, I've talked to several of them and a lot of them were surprised by their victory margins," said Clinton. "A lot of them won by four, five, six, eight points more than they thought they did."

Following Election Day, the incoming 114th Congress will have 53 Republican, 44 Democratic and 2 Independent senators. One senate race, in Louisiana, which has yet to be determined as a runoff election between Democratic incumbent Mary Landrieu and Republican candidate Bill Cassidy, is scheduled on Dec. 6. The House of Representatives will comprise of 244 Republicans and 186 Democrats, although five races are yet to be finalized.

In regards to Obama's executive action, the president said he would make an announcement about the order after Election Day but before the end of the year. Reports indicated the executive action could include deferment of up to five million undocumented immigrants from deportation.

As Latin Post reported, an Obama administration official with "direct knowledge" of the executive action plans said changes will come for the 12,000 federal immigration agents. While the White House has yet to publicly comment on the authenticity of the report, an unnamed official said opportunities for immigrants will be expanded for those with "high-tech skills."

While attending the Group of 20 summit in Brisbane, Australia, Obama said, "I can't wait in perpetuity when I have authorities that, at least for the next two years, can improve the system, can allow us to shift more resources to the border rather than separating families; improve the legal immigration system. I would be derelict in my duties if I did not try to improve the system that everybody acknowledges is broken."

Based on exit polling conducted by Latino Decisions, Latinos considered immigration among "one" of the important issues leading up to the midterm elections. Latino support for the GOP could falter if the political party decides to block any action on immigration set forth by Obama. Meanwhile, Latinos claimed support for the Democratic Party would increase if Obama fulfills his commitment to immigration reform executive action.

__

For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.

Related