DENVER — Barack Obama will have to win over large numbers of Latino voters, especially in crucial states such as Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico to clinch the presidency in November.
“These are the three states that will decide this election outcome,” New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson said Tuesday at a forum focusing on Latino voters sponsored by the Western Majority Project. “And it will be because of Latinos.”
Denver, Richardson said, is the “epicenter” of the growth in the Hispanic population that has swept the U.S. Twenty percent of Colorado voters are Hispanic, 32 percent of New Mexico voters and 23 percent of the Nevada electorate—compared with 48 percent nationwide.
Because of their exploding numbers, Hispanic voters have the potential to wield significant political clout. However, they haven’t become the political force that they could be because so many Hispanic Americans are not registered to vote. And large numbers are not eligible because they are either in the country illegally or not U.S. citizens.
The main message from Richardson and other speakers at the forum was that in order to win in November, the Democrats must reach out to Hispanic voters and harness this untapped potential.
Obama must find a way to convince Hispanics who are already registered to buy into Obama’s platform. And the party must launch a massive registration drive to bring in millions more people who either vote infrequently or not at all.
The traditional line is that Obama is in big trouble with Hispanics. That they favored Hillary Clinton in overwhelming numbers and that many believe he is too inexperienced to be president.
However, the poll numbers don’t show that at all, says Andrew Myers, a pollster who conducted research on the Latino electorate for New West.
Independent polls conducted by Pew and other independent groups show that Obama has more than 60 percent support among Hispanics. In fact, just one out of four Hispanics supports McCain.
Richardson predicts that that number could reach 70 percent, if the Obama campaign devotes the necessary resources.
Obama’s focus on the family and his emphasis on making the American Dream within reach for anyone willing to work hard appeals to Hispanics. His focus on those who are working two to three jobs to make ends meet resonates with working class Hispanic voters.
The Obama campaign has already designated $20 million for Latino voter outreach but Richardson said the Democrats must do even more.
The Democratic party has traditionally focused on the northeastern part of the country, the west coast and a few Midwestern cities because those were the historic party strongholds.
“But that strategy,” Richardson said, “must change of the Democrats are to win in November.”
Richardson said that the Democrats decision to hold the convention in Denver was a sign that party officials recognized the region’s increasing importance in the political landscape. An indicator, he said of the emergence of a “New West.”
Richardson and a Service Employees International Union leader announced several new initiatives targeted at Latino voters.
Soon, 1400 SEIU workers will be deployed to walk precincts in the key states with large Hispanic populations—Colorado, Arizona, California, Ohio, Nevada, Texas, and Florida. They will knock on Hispanic resident’s doors explaining the differences in the platforms between Obama and John McCain.
“We will be urging them vote their pocketbook interests,” said SEIU executive vice president Eliseo Medina.
Meanwhile the “We are American alliance” a coalition of various organizations will focus on registering new Hispanic voters.
“These efforts will be crucial,” Medina said.
