McCain Wages Battle for Latino Votes
The Cox News Service, September 1, 2008
http://www.coxwashington.com/hp/content/reporters/stories/
2008/31/2008/09/01/GOP_LATINOS_McCAIN01.html
Washington, DC — John McCain, who received more than 70 percent of the Latino vote in his most recent Senate re-election bid in Arizona, is struggling to attract Hispanic voters nationwide.
The presumptive GOP nominee is trailing Sen. Barack Obama by a wide margin, according to various polls.
As the Republican National Convention begins on Monday, McCain is waging an uphill battle for Latinos, a key voting bloc in several contested states including Florida, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada.
A Gallup poll conducted Aug. 18 to Aug. 24 showed that 58 percent of registered Hispanic voters preferred Obama while 31 percent preferred McCain.
A survey released last month by the Pew Hispanic Center, a non-partisan research group in Washington, showed a wider margin — 66 percent said they preferred Obama, compared to 23 percent for McCain.
Hessy Fernandez, McCain's spokesperson for Hispanic media, said that the climate for Republicans this year is difficult, but that many Latinos will ultimately vote for McCain based on his record.
'Sen. McCain has been fighting for the issues Latinos care about for over two decades…He is a true friend of the Latino community,' she said.
The campaign is reaching out aggressively to Hispanics, including Spanish and English language advertising on the Internet, radio, and television in Florida and other swing states.
The campaign's goal is to get more than 45 percent of the Hispanic vote nationwide, Fernandez said. That would be a record for a Republican presidential candidate.
McCain is meeting with Latinos and other Americans at town hall meetings across the country and has received many endorsements from Latino leaders, Fernandez added.
She pointed to Silverio Salazar, a local Democratic official in Pueblo, Colo., who is supporting McCain and helping with Latino outreach. Salazar is the cousin of U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar and U.S. Rep. John Salazar, also Democrats.
McCain's ads have focused on his military career, the service of Latino veterans, including those who are not citizens, his ability to deal with economic issues, and his support for the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, which is pending in Congress.
President Bush received 40 percent of the Latino vote in 2004, a record for a Republican presidential candidate. But exit polls showed that Latino support for Republicans in the 2006 midterm elections fell to around 27 percent.
Political analysts said that McCain's poor showing with Latino voters in recent polls is surprising.
McCain championed an immigration measure popular with Hispanics that would have given illegal immigrants a path to citizenship. Many saw it as a courageous stance against the right wing of the Republican Party.
McCain has also separated himself from hard liners on the issue, saying repeatedly that illegal immigrants are 'God's children' and should be treated with compassion.
However, McCain has backed away from his immigration bill during the campaign, saying that the border must be secure before any legalization efforts.
Political analysts say that McCain is saddled by a negative view of the Republican Party among many Latinos.
'Despite his own record on immigration, he is suffering from the perception that the Republican Party is anti-immigrant,' said John Pitney, a professor of American politics at Claremont McKenna College. 'And like other groups of voters, Latinos worry about the overall state of the economy? That is another problem for McCain.'
Pitney said that McCain must win at least 30 percent of the Latino vote, or risk losing New Mexico, Nevada and Colorado.
Dario Moreno, a professor of Political Science at Florida International University and an expert on Latino voters, said that 'some of the language surrounding the immigration debate really did a lot of damage to the Republicans among Latino voters.'
He also said that McCain's strong support for the war in Iraq is a major problem for Latinos, who 'are very turned off on the war.'
However, Moreno also said that McCain is doing well among Cuban-Americans in Florida who are traditionally Republican.
Cuban Americans are now about half of registered Latino voters in Florida and have high rates of voting, so they could help McCain in the hotly contested state, Moreno said.
'Florida Hispanics are in a position to play a very key role in this election,' he added.
Cecilia Munoz, vice president for policy at the National Council of La Raza, a Latino civil rights group, said that McCain will have trouble walking 'the tightrope' on immigration as he reaches out to Hispanic voters while at the same time tries to assuage some in the Republican base who are angry about his stance on the issue.
'I don't think you can do both,' she said.
Obama announced earlier this month that his campaign, along with the Democratic National Committee, is spending $20 million to mobilize Hispanic voters in key swing states. The campaign will involve advertising, online organizing, voter registration drives, get-out-the-vote efforts, and the training of some 500 grass-roots organizers.
Obama struggled to gain Latino votes in the primaries where Hispanics preferred Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York by a nearly 2 to 1 margin.
According to the Pew survey, most of the Hillary voters – 76 percent – said they were now inclined to vote for Obama, while 8 percent said they were inclined to vote for McCain.
Nationwide, the number of Hispanics eligible to vote increased from about 14 million in 2000 to 17 million in 2006, according to the Pew Hispanic Center. However, registration among Latinos has been traditionally low. In 2004, about 16 million Latinos were eligible to vote, but only 7.6 million cast ballots.
Jeffrey S. Passel, a demographer and senior research associate with the center, said that a boost in registration rates is likely this year in large part because of a massive campaign by Latino organizations and Spanish-language media outlets to promote citizenship and voting registration.
Once people are registered, voter turnout hinges on several things, including the ability of groups and campaigns to get people to the polls, he said.
More than 1.4 million immigrants applied for citizenship last year, setting a new record, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
However, thousands may not be able to vote because of a backlog in processing the applications.
McCain Wages Battle for Latino Votes
The Cox News Service, September 1, 2008
http://www.coxwashington.com/hp/content/reporters/stories/
2008/31/2008/09/01/GOP_LATINOS_McCAIN01.html
Washington, DC — John McCain, who received more than 70 percent of the Latino vote in his most recent Senate re-election bid in Arizona, is struggling to attract Hispanic voters nationwide.
The presumptive GOP nominee is trailing Sen. Barack Obama by a wide margin, according to various polls.
As the Republican National Convention begins on Monday, McCain is waging an uphill battle for Latinos, a key voting bloc in several contested states including Florida, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada.
A Gallup poll conducted Aug. 18 to Aug. 24 showed that 58 percent of registered Hispanic voters preferred Obama while 31 percent preferred McCain.
A survey released last month by the Pew Hispanic Center, a non-partisan research group in Washington, showed a wider margin — 66 percent said they preferred Obama, compared to 23 percent for McCain.
Hessy Fernandez, McCain's spokesperson for Hispanic media, said that the climate for Republicans this year is difficult, but that many Latinos will ultimately vote for McCain based on his record.
'Sen. McCain has been fighting for the issues Latinos care about for over two decades…He is a true friend of the Latino community,' she said.
The campaign is reaching out aggressively to Hispanics, including Spanish and English language advertising on the Internet, radio, and television in Florida and other swing states.
The campaign's goal is to get more than 45 percent of the Hispanic vote nationwide, Fernandez said. That would be a record for a Republican presidential candidate.
McCain is meeting with Latinos and other Americans at town hall meetings across the country and has received many endorsements from Latino leaders, Fernandez added.
She pointed to Silverio Salazar, a local Democratic official in Pueblo, Colo., who is supporting McCain and helping with Latino outreach. Salazar is the cousin of U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar and U.S. Rep. John Salazar, also Democrats.
McCain's ads have focused on his military career, the service of Latino veterans, including those who are not citizens, his ability to deal with economic issues, and his support for the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, which is pending in Congress.
President Bush received 40 percent of the Latino vote in 2004, a record for a Republican presidential candidate. But exit polls showed that Latino support for Republicans in the 2006 midterm elections fell to around 27 percent.
Political analysts said that McCain's poor showing with Latino voters in recent polls is surprising.
McCain championed an immigration measure popular with Hispanics that would have given illegal immigrants a path to citizenship. Many saw it as a courageous stance against the right wing of the Republican Party.
McCain has also separated himself from hard liners on the issue, saying repeatedly that illegal immigrants are 'God's children' and should be treated with compassion.
However, McCain has backed away from his immigration bill during the campaign, saying that the border must be secure before any legalization efforts.
Political analysts say that McCain is saddled by a negative view of the Republican Party among many Latinos.
'Despite his own record on immigration, he is suffering from the perception that the Republican Party is anti-immigrant,' said John Pitney, a professor of American politics at Claremont McKenna College. 'And like other groups of voters, Latinos worry about the overall state of the economy? That is another problem for McCain.'
Pitney said that McCain must win at least 30 percent of the Latino vote, or risk losing New Mexico, Nevada and Colorado.
Dario Moreno, a professor of Political Science at Florida International University and an expert on Latino voters, said that 'some of the language surrounding the immigration debate really did a lot of damage to the Republicans among Latino voters.'
He also said that McCain's strong support for the war in Iraq is a major problem for Latinos, who 'are very turned off on the war.'
However, Moreno also said that McCain is doing well among Cuban-Americans in Florida who are traditionally Republican.
Cuban Americans are now about half of registered Latino voters in Florida and have high rates of voting, so they could help McCain in the hotly contested state, Moreno said.
'Florida Hispanics are in a position to play a very key role in this election,' he added.
Cecilia Munoz, vice president for policy at the National Council of La Raza, a Latino civil rights group, said that McCain will have trouble walking 'the tightrope' on immigration as he reaches out to Hispanic voters while at the same time tries to assuage some in the Republican base who are angry about his stance on the issue.
'I don't think you can do both,' she said.
Obama announced earlier this month that his campaign, along with the Democratic National Committee, is spending $20 million to mobilize Hispanic voters in key swing states. The campaign will involve advertising, online organizing, voter registration drives, get-out-the-vote efforts, and the training of some 500 grass-roots organizers.
Obama struggled to gain Latino votes in the primaries where Hispanics preferred Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York by a nearly 2 to 1 margin.
According to the Pew survey, most of the Hillary voters – 76 percent – said they were now inclined to vote for Obama, while 8 percent said they were inclined to vote for McCain.
Nationwide, the number of Hispanics eligible to vote increased from about 14 million in 2000 to 17 million in 2006, according to the Pew Hispanic Center. However, registration among Latinos has been traditionally low. In 2004, about 16 million Latinos were eligible to vote, but only 7.6 million cast ballots.
Jeffrey S. Passel, a demographer and senior research associate with the center, said that a boost in registration rates is likely this year in large part because of a massive campaign by Latino organizations and Spanish-language media outlets to promote citizenship and voting registration.
Once people are registered, voter turnout hinges on several things, including the ability of groups and campaigns to get people to the polls, he said.
More than 1.4 million immigrants applied for citizenship last year, setting a new record, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
However, thousands may not be able to vote because of a backlog in processing the applications.
