Viewpoint: Where Latino voters go from here By Maria Elena Salinas
Sunday, June 15, 2008 9:38 PM PDT
It might not be perfect, but the manner in which the presidential candidates are chosen in the United States works. We start out with several choices, then narrow them down to two by process of elimination. It’s probably one of the most democratic electoral systems in the world. Even so, it does have its downfalls.
When you have candidates from the same party running against each other, voters pick their favorites, but then when the primaries are over, they are forced to change their allegiance. That is particularly difficult to do when a race is as intense as the one we went through this election year, in which voters seemed to feel so passionately about their candidates.
So, now that the Democratic presidential nominee has been determined, the $64 million question is staring everyone in the face: Where do Hillary Clinton’s supporters go from here? These are their choices: Support Barack Obama, the rival she ran such a ferocious campaign against; cross party lines and give their vote to Republican John McCain; or go for the unthinkable — abstain from voting.
That certainly is one dilemma affecting the Latino voting population. A good portion of the fastest-growing sector of our electorate is now faced with the daunting prospect of having to reconsider their commitment. Most major polls tracking the intention of Latino voters showed Sen. Clinton as the clear favorite, with the support of up to seven out of 10 Hispanics.
Even after Obama increased his Latino voter outreach, the numbers didn’t move his way. Major endorsements from high-profile Latino politicians such as Rep. Luis Gutierrez, former Denver Mayor Federico Pena and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson did not do much to influence the Latino vote.
Sen. Ted Kennedy’s support of Obama, intended in part to draw the attention of Latino voters, could have gotten them to listen, but it is yet unknown if they liked what they heard. In exit polls conducted in states where the Latino vote was tracked, Clinton got between 65 percent and 70 percent of their support, as opposed to Obama’s 30 percent to 35 percent, with the exception of his home state of Illinois, where he got 50 percent of the Latino vote.
Now that Obama has Clinton’s endorsement as well as that of some of her high-profile supporters, will he be able to entice Latino voters who had chosen her over him? Pollster Sergio Bendixen, one of Clinton’s main advisers on Hispanic affairs, says Obama is going to have to win over Latinos on his own. “He will have to focus his message on the issues that are important to Latinos in order to get their support,” he said, “issues such as universal health insurance and an economy that produces new jobs.”
The same thing could be said for presumptive Republican candidate John McCain. He will, without a doubt, have to work hard to earn the support of Latinos. The Democratic Party has a significant advantage over Republicans among Hispanics, who were hurt by the negative tone of the immigration debate. In a Pew Hispanic Center poll conducted last year, only 23 percent of Latinos called themselves Republican, and a great majority said the Democratic Party shows more concern for the Latino community than does the Republican Party.
Also, a Gallup poll in May showed that while Clinton would have done better against McCain than Obama, Obama would still beat him among Latinos, with 62 percent of the vote over 29 percent. But now it’s a new ballgame, and the real race for the White House begins.
Perhaps now more than ever before, the Latino vote is up for grabs. There have been major efforts by national Latino organizations and media partners to motivate Hispanics who qualify to become citizens of the United States. The response was phenomenal. Within the past year, more than 1 million legal residents applied for citizenship, and thousands were naturalized. The voter-registration campaigns have been in full force all over the country trying to increase the number of voters, and it is expected that a record 9 million could show up at the polls. So now Hillary’s Latino supporters will have to keep a close eye on their options. But staying home and not voting should not be one of them.
>> Reach Maria Elena Salinas at www.mariaesalinas.com
" Obama will take California by a wide margin, so what does it all matter? So did John Kerry. For the Latino vote to really count, they should have established residency throughout the country. "
marygb wrote on Jun 16, 2008 3:13 PM:
" Hey, Maria "Blame the party in power!" What is up with all this stuff because of republicans? "Despite the current oil crisis and the fact that China with its abysmal environmental record is drilling within 70 miles off US shores, Democrats continue to vote against oil drilling and exploration.The Senate on Tuesday, despite democrat resistance, approved drilling in protected US coastal areas in the Gulf of Mexico. Democrats voted down the measure. Hey..blame the party in power, count..there is strengh in numbers...!" I don't want to pay more for gasoline than the next person..I drive a gas gussler and can hardly wait to dump it!! Until then..check out the numbers and party affiliates in office both state and Congress..Hey..again..blame the party in office.separate and equal..checks and balances. "
mikegino wrote on Jun 16, 2008 11:29 AM:
" In his last re-election campaign for the U.S. Senate, John McCain received approximately 70% of the Latino (Mexican) vote in a state that shares a border with Mexico. "
kayro14 wrote on Jun 16, 2008 10:29 AM:
" Voters having to rethink their choice is not strictly a Latino problem despite the fact that Ms. Salinas believes they are a nation unto themselves. Former Hillary backers in Imperial County don't have much to worry about, though. Official election results posted on the registrar's website show that only 31% of registered voters cast ballots two weeks ago and only 33% (9776) of those were Democrat. To be fair, only 41% of Republicans voted in the last election. These kind of numbers indicate that there is a much bigger problem, at least locally, than the fact that Clinton couldn't beat Obama. Latinos (the majority in Imperial County) don't care enough about any candidate or issue to get out and vote. "
sterig wrote on Jun 16, 2008 10:09 AM:
" I think for "MARIA'S VOTERS",staying home and not voting, would be an excellant choice! "
farmallalfalfa wrote on Jun 16, 2008 9:13 AM:
" Maria does far more damage than good for Americans of Hispanic descent. She is constantly trying to segregate "Latinos" from the rest of America.
I'm also willing to bet that the 23% of "Latinos" that call themselves Republicans also call themselves Americans as opposed to Latinos. "
gymjunkie wrote on Jun 16, 2008 8:04 AM:
" Pretty good try Maria, but a hard stretch at playing the racist card. Don't know why the fact that either candidate opposes illegal immigration would have anything to do with latino voter support. Are you saying that illegals vote? Are you saying that all illegals are latino? I would think that most "Americans" regardless of their ethnicity would be against illegal immigration for the good of their country and a hard line policy against illegals gets my vote. "
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coach richey wrote on Jun 24, 2008 1:25 AM: