Republicans look at the states that got a boost in EVs, and they rejoice. It's mostly red states! And in the short term (2012), than certainly is good news for them. What isn't good news is the reason why those states have grown.
Hispanic voters are nearly three times more prevalent in states that gained congressional seats and Electoral College votes in the 2010 reapportionment than they are in states that lost seats, according to an analysis of Census data by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center. Based on averages reflecting congressional gains and losses, 15.2% of the eligible voter population in states that gained seats is Hispanic, compared with just 5.4% of eligible voters in those states that lost seats.
With these reapportionment changes, Latinos likely will play a larger role in national politics in the coming decade. Two states that gained seats, Florida and Nevada, have been key battlegrounds in recent presidential elections (having voted for the Republican nominee in 2004 and the Democratic candidate in 2008). In both states, Latinos are a growing share of eligible voters
The states that gained seats are Texas (4), Florida (2), and single seats in South Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and Washington.
The continued growth of the Latino population in Texas has promised to turn it Blue for several cycles now, only to see that promise unrealized. But with a quarter of the vote now Latino and still surging, that day will come eventually. Texas Republicans are sure doing everything in their power to hasten that day.
Florida is swingy as hell, and will remain that way. Arizona will be the next big battleground state (and could've gained an extra seat had they not driven their Latino population underground). Nevada looks to be shifting from Purple to Blue. Washington is Blue and only getting Bluer.
Of that lot, only South Carolina, Utah, and Georgia should remain safe for Republicans for the time being, and maybe not even Georgia, as a black-brown coalition could help make the state increasingly competitive in this decade.
A smart Republican Party could co-opt Latino support for Democrats by appealing to their social conservatism. Instead, they continue to blast Latinos as the enemy, doing everything in their power to solidify the brown vote for the Democratic Party.