While the Latino vote continues to gain momentum into the 2016 election season, candidates must remember the electorate is diverse, and one growing group is Dominican Americans.

As Latino Decisions' Adrian Pantoja and Manny Matos wrote, Dominican Americans are the fastest growing Latino group in the Northeast U.S. The Pew Research Center also acknowledged Dominicans, along with Puerto Ricans, as the dominant Latino-origin group in the New York-Northeastern Jersey metropolitan area. The metropolitan area is home to the second largest overall Latino population with 4.3 million residing in the area -- or 8 percent of national Latinos, behind the Los Angeles-Long Beach, California metropolitan area's 5.8 million Latinos.

Despite its size, Matos and Pantoja stated Dominican Americans have not historically received the same information, voter outreach, and engagement by political campaigns.

In collaboration with Dominicanos USA, Latino Decisions polled 800 Dominican Americans and conducted a series of focus groups. Among the Dominican Americans polled, jobs and the economy were cited as their top issues, followed by 23 percent for education and improving schools and 20 percent for housing affordability.

Immigration, including immigration rights and reform, ranked fourth with 13 percent, ahead of health care access' 7 percent. Lower taxes, anti-Latino discrimination and policing issues rounded up the top 8 issues among Dominican Americans.

"While the number of Dominican voters has been growing rapidly, respondents showed a strong desire to see more Dominican elected officials and Dominican serving community groups to reflect their growing numbers," wrote Pantoja and Matos, adding that 79 percent of registered voters are more likely to vote if they could vote for the first-ever Dominican American to Congress.

Meanwhile, 78 percent of Dominicans said they would become registered voters if given the opportunity to see a Dominican elected into Congress. Local politics appeared to be important for the Dominican respondents, as many showed a stronger desire to see Dominican representation at the local level, such as city council or mayoral office.

Most Dominican Americans -- 91 percent of registered voters and 94 percent non-registered voters -- said there is need for more Dominican-focused community organizations that would inspire civic participation. The aforementioned Dominican Americans agreed with the statement, "[We] need more local Dominican-focused civic advocacy groups that help raise the voice of Dominican Americans."

"The survey revealed that one of the biggest barriers to participation is that respondents felt that they lacked sufficient information about candidates and the political process," added Matos and Pantoja. "This suggests that existing candidates and parties have not done a good job in targeting and mobilizing Dominican voters and explains why large numbers of Dominicans say they are eager to see Dominican candidates run for office and have Dominican-focused civic organizations involved in politics."

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