The biggest irony of this election could be that Donald Trump, whose campaign was initially anchored in white anger over illegal immigration from Mexico, has mobilized Hispanic voters and driven record Latino turnout that could deny him the presidency. In crucial Florida, 565,000 Hispanics had voted early as of Saturday, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Citing analysis by University of Florida political scientist Dan Smith, the paper said that number represents a 100 percent increase over 2012.

Smith said there has been an explosion of turnout among newly registered Hispanics and those who sat out the last presidential election.

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, who has been a consistent critic of Trump, told the Times: "The story of this election may be the mobilization of the Hispanic vote. So Trump deserves the award for Hispanic turnout. He did more to get them out than any Democrat has ever done." It's not like the Republicans didn't know they needed Hispanics. In 2012, just 27 percent of Hispanics nationally voted for Republican Mitt Romney, according to the Pew Hispanic Center. That was down from the 40 percent of Latino voters who backed George W. Bush in 2004 and the 31 percent who voted for John McCain in 2008. After the 2012 election, Republicans talked about the importance of outreach to Hispanics — and then along came Trump, who called illegal Mexican immigrants "rapists" and drug smugglers and promised to build a 40-foot-high wall paid for by Mexico. Had he not bested the Republican primary field, which included two Hispanic-Americans — Senators Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas – the situation might be considerably different.