Latino mojo

Researchers at Pew are wondering whether Hispanics will ever become the majority in California (they probably passed whites to become the largest ethnic group last year). The state’s most recent official forecast estimates that Hispanics will account for 49% of the population in 2060, much lower than an earlier projection, to 2050, had suggested. Pew gives several reasons for this, including declining Hispanic birth rates and slowing immigration. But although Latinos may fall shy of a majority, their continued growth will be remarkable, increasing by 2.2m in Los Angeles County (and 1.1m in Riverside), while the number of whites in LA will fall by a third. With triple-digit growth rates in almost all counties, Hispanics should become California’s dominant political force.