Louie Gohmert Thinks The GOP's 'Faith In God' Will Woo Latino Voters

After accusing the Obama administration of offering undocumented immigrants welfare benefits in exchange for illegally voting for President Barack Obama in 2012, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) claimed that Latinos will begin voting for Republicans because the GOP believes in God.

“Now over time I think they will eventually realize that those in favor of hard work, faith in God and belief in democracy will eventually start voting Republican, but in the meantime I’m not sure there’s a country left by the time they realize that,” Gohmert said in a News Talk Florida interview Tuesday.

Gohmert added that Obama’s “activities” leading up to the surge of thousands of unaccompanied minors on the southern American border were also part of the president’s long-running plot to build a bigger Democratic voting base.

As of 2013, Hispanics of all ages are more than twice as likely to identify as Democrats than Republicans, according to a Gallup poll last July.

Data from American National Election Studies also found that for Latinos -- and most other Americans -– party identification and voting behavior were more strongly correlated with policy preferences than with group identity.

Thus far, the role of government and social programs have played a more significant role for Hispanics in determining party affiliations than cultural issues -- a factor that has alienated Latinos from voting Republican for decades.