| COURTING THE HISPANIC VOTE |
| Written by Maria Elena Salinas |
| Thursday, August 29 2002 |
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| If we believe in polls then it must be that at least some of George W. Bush's efforts to reach out to Hispanic voters are paying off. Recent polls show that Bush has gained considerable popularity among Hispanics since he has been in office. This raises a lot of questions about whom the growing Hispanic vote will benefit in the upcoming mid-term elections and beyond.
Hispanic voters have traditionally supported the Democratic Party. So much for tradition. According to numbers released by the Latino Coalition in Washington D.C., 68 percent of Hispanics approve of the job President Bush is doing. If the presidential elections were held today, 50 percent would support Bush and only 35 percent would vote for Democratic candidate Al Gore. That's a far cry from Gore's 54 to 28 lead over Bush among Hispanics last year.
So what does this mean? Are Hispanics switching parties? Are they dumping the Democrats and becoming Republican? Well, not quite. According to the poll conducted by "McLaughlin and Associates Opiniones Latinas", 48 percent of Latinos still identify themselves with the Democratic Party, compared to 23 percent who identify with Republicans. For now it seems to be just a love affair with Señor Bush. Congressional Democrats are still preferred by Hispanics, although approval ratings for Congressional Republicans among Latinos have increased somewhat. This could be due to the fact that some Latinos now see the Republican Party as the party of George W. Bush and not the party of former California Governor Pete Wilson, perceived by most Hispanics to be anti-immigrant.
What these results mean is that the Latino vote is up for grabs and that no politician can either ignore it or take it for granted. In the last presidential election Hispanics were 7 percent of the vote nationally. A whopping 79 percent of Latino registered voters went to the polls. It is expected that in 2004 there will be an increase of almost 2 million Hispanic voters. While they can't exactly decide an election, they are an important swing vote in a tight race.
No one can dispute the fact that President Bush has gone out of his way to court Hispanics. He has named several Hispanics to key positions. He celebrates "Cinco de Mayo" and calls some Latin American heads of state "mi amigo". And he makes great efforts to speak Spanish. The GOP has tried to keep up sending top party leaders to Spanish lessons and launching its own show on selected Spanish language stations.
Several Latino political leaders point out that speaking Spanish and playing Mariachi music in the rose garden is not enough to show Hispanics you care about them. However it's a start. "That is a wrong assessment," says pollster Sergio Bendixen. "Latino's do like to be romanced, they like the music, they like the use of Spanish language (by politicians), it makes them feel important". Bendixen should know. For the past 30 years he has been following Hispanic voter trends in the United States and Latin America. His last poll conducted in May also shows that Bush enjoys a 70 percent job approval rating among Hispanic voters.
Now that the Latino vote can go either way politicians need to be aware of the issues that this community cares more about: Education, the economy, health care and immigration.
Politicians need to keep in mind these simple facts about Hispanics. The High School drop out rate is the highest in the country as well as the unemployment rate. Latinos prefer investing in public schools to a voucher program. Almost a third have no health insurance. And an overwhelming majority approve the legalization of undocumented immigrants through employment based programs.
As election day approaches, politicians from both parties would be wise to heed this advise. Address issues affecting Hispanics, support their concerns through votes not just talk, and they will pay you back at the polls. |
