It’s not a surprise that there aren’t more Hispanics in elected office, said Ben Marquez, professor of political science at UW- Madison.
It takes a while for a population, especially one that has grown as rapidly as Hispanics, to produce political leaders, he said.
One large impediment to Hispanics in Wisconsin exerting their influence at the polls is obtaining citizenship, he said. Until they register voters in large numbers, the political parties likely will be slow to respond to their needs, Marquez said.