donald trump, right, applauds next to then los angeles mayor antonio villaraigosa during the miss universe 2006 pageant on july 2006, in los angeles. | ap photo/benjamin sklar by david siders 11/10/16 12:45 pm est if antonio villaraigosa can cut a path to the california governor<u+2019>s office, for which he announced his candidacy on thursday, his widest opening may have come in tuesday's election of a polar opposite, donald trump. california latinos voted at a higher rate on tuesday than in previous elections, according to exit polls, turning out in record numbers to oppose the president elect. if they turn out again in 2018, whether because of the gubernatorial race or broader forces of midterm discontent, more than a decade of voting history suggests villaraigosa will benefit more than most. story continued below before this year, latinos out-performed their registration margins only twice over 14 years in legislative, congressional and big city mayoral races across the state, according to research by paul mitchell of political data inc. one of those times was in 2006, when now-senate president pro tem kevin de le<u+00f3>n defeated a granddaughter of cesar chavez in a state assembly race. the other time was when villaraigosa was first elected mayor. in a crowded race to succeed gov. jerry brown, even a modest voting bloc could propel a candidate from the primary to a runoff. <u+201c>if you wanted to create an ideal situation for a candidate not just with antonio villaraigosa<u+2019>s demographic profile, but his political biography,<u+201d> said dan schnur, director of the jesse m. unruh institute of politics at the university of southern california, <u+201c>you could not come up with something more beneficial to him than the midterm election of a trump presidency.<u+201d> had hillary clinton won, schnur said, <u+201c>villaraigosa might have had some trouble being heard and finding a place for himself in the field. in donald trump<u+2019>s midterm election, that<u+2019>s not going to be a problem for him at all.<u+201d> villaraigosa, 63, had long been laying tracks for his campaign, appearing across the state at conferences and meetings with newspaper editorial boards. he quietly assembled advisers in recent weeks, before announcing his candidacy thursday in a written statement online. "today, i want to be california<u+2019>s next governor because i believe that we need to bring this state together around a shared vision <u+2014> lifting more families into the middle class and creating high wage jobs by improving our schools and investing in our infrastructure like roads, bridges, transportation, ports and waterways," he said. "we can rebuild a california that gives every family the chance to succeed." fallout from the presidential election could dramatically shape the race. trump is grossly unpopular in heavily democratic california, where protesters on wednesday blocked traffic on a freeway in los angeles and students demonstrated in berkeley. democrats up and down the ballot are likely to cast themselves as counterweights to trump. on wednesday, villaraigosa rival lt. gov. gavin newsom contrasted the presidential election with the passage of liberal-leaning ballot measures in california, saying <u+201c>the world is looking to california for leadership.<u+201d> villaraigosa's campaign said on its website that his "entry into the race for governor just two days after donald trump was elected president created a clear contrast between a california vision of shared prosperity and the national political climate." villaraigosa and newsom topped an early measure of voter support in the gubernatorial race, according to a field poll last year, with villaraigosa far ahead among latino voters. in a likely preview of his gubernatorial campaign, villaraigosa used his address at the democratic national convention in july to tear into trump<u+2019>s proposal to deport immigrants in the country illegally. the charismatic former state assembly speaker said he came <u+201c>to speak for 11 million often-forgotten people.<u+201d> <u+201c>antonio<u+2019>s really interesting,<u+201d> said mike madrid, a republican consultant who specializes in latino politics in california. <u+201c>he has a very unique and strong propensity to galvanize the latino vote.<u+201d> but while the latino population has been growing in california, latino turnout has historically been low. in midterm elections, latinos turn out at even lower rates, said mindy romero, director of the california civic engagement project at university of california, davis. <u+201c>in 2018, the big issue for villaraigosa and others who are trying to capitalize on latino voters is, it<u+2019>s going to be a midterm year,<u+201d> she said. on his website, villaraigosa said he would be "proud to become the state<u+2019>s first latino governor since 1875," but that he would be "prouder still to be everyone<u+2019>s governor and work every day to unite our incredible state in the service of lifting more families into the middle class." no los angeles mayor has ever been elected governor, and villaraigosa will have been out of office for five years by 2018. he is also likely to face significant opposition from labor unions, behemoths in statewide races in california. despite once working as a labor organizer, villaraigosa infuriated teachers when he tried, largely unsuccessfully, to increase the mayor<u+2019>s control over local schools. he also fought with city employees over efforts to reduce their ranks. in an unusually early endorsement, and a rebuke of villaraigosa, the california nurses association last year announced it would support newsom in 2018. declaring his candidacy will allow villaraigosa to start raising money. newsom and state treasurer john chiang have already amassed millions of dollars for their campaigns, while delaine eastin, a former state superintendent of public instruction, has said she will begin fundraising early next year. de le<u+00f3>n, billionaire environmentalist tom steyer and former state controller steve westly are among other potential democratic candidates. kevin faulconer, the republican mayor of san diego, is also considered a potential contender, despite saying he does not plan to run. carla marinucci and david siders' must-read briefing on politics and government in the golden state
how trump could help villaraigosa in california<u+2019>s race for governor
david siders