'Se habla política': The use of Spanish among U.S. politicos has soared this election year

Politicians are well aware, especially during pre-election periods, that around 19% of the population is Hispanic, which means more than 64 million people (Credit: Unsplash.com/Miguel Henriques)

Whether a reflection of the ever-increasing Latino demographic in the U.S. or a result of political strategy in an election year — or both — the use of Spanish has risen to historic levels among politicians. And a study by The Hispanic Council reveals just how much those numbers are impacting the House of Representatives and the Senate.

According to the study, which takes into account the use of Spanish either in posts on the social platform X or in the Spanish-language versions of the politicians' official websites, 47 out of 100 senators used Spanish in their digital communications with citizens, a massive increase from the 13 that did it back in 2018. The number is even more telling when considering that only six senators are of Hispanic descent.