I love when Dems say amnesty has nothing to do with expanding their base.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — State demographers estimate that whites and Latinos are now an equal share of California’s population, with Latinos poised to become a plurality by early next year.

Latino leaders planned a modest rally Monday at the state Capitol to mark the milestone, which researchers at the state Department of Finance had previously projected would be achieved mid-year.

“At this point, the numbers are very, very close,” said Bill Schooling, head of the demographic research unit of the State Department of Finance. He said officials do not plan to estimate the exact date when Latinos begin overtaking whites, but they are expected to become the state’s largest ethnicity in early 2014.

Whites and Latinos each comprise about 39 percent of California’s population after a long-running demographic shift that already has altered state politics, the economy and culture.

Monday’s rally was intended to mark the occasion and remind state lawmakers of Latinos’ increasing clout, said Orlando Fuentas, president of the Latino Democratic Club of Sacramento.

“We want to recognize this momentous change by acknowledging the responsibilities that lay ahead for our community at large as well as our state,” Fuentas said in a statement.