TRUMP NUMBERS SHOW HOW GOP WENT WRONG ON IMMIGRATION. The Republican Party had something of a nervous breakdown after the 2012 election, when GOP challenger Mitt Romney lost to incumbent President Barack Obama. Some Republicans had convinced themselves that the multitude of polls showing Obama ahead were “skewed.” Many actually expected a Romney victory. When that didn’t happen, they looked for reasons.

They could have looked at Obama’s job approval rating, 52% in Gallup on Election Day, or the power of incumbency that Obama used to its fullest extent. Instead, Republicans focused on the Hispanic vote. Romney lost it big time, winning just 27% of Latino voters to Obama’s 71%. GOP strategists were deeply affected by Democrats’ predictions that Hispanic Americans, the only voting group actually growing by significant amounts, would give the Democratic Party a lock on the presidency in the future. So after Romney’s defeat, they set themselves to the task of winning more Latino voters.