Richard Brian Las Vegas Review-Journal @vegasphotograph

Maybe there’s a simpler explanation for the Republican Party’s poor showing than Wayne Allyn Root’s analysis (Thursday column). Maybe it’s no more complicated than demographics and voter perceptions.

Ronald Reagan, who won two landslide elections, said this about Hispanics: They “demonstrate the importance of real work, producing things of real value, building communities of shared values that enrich America and keep us strong and free.”

Donald Trump, who won only 46 percent of the popular vote, said: “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. … They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”

I’m afraid as long as prominent Republicans vilify the fastest-growing voter bloc in the country, the party’s prospects are bleak.