Hispanics Challenging in Political Arena.htm

Hispanics Challenging in Political Arena

From: http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/newsbyid.asp?id=6863

May 30, 2002

WASHINGTON -- Former Univision journalist Lorna Virgili left Washington to launch her campaign for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

An expert on political issues, Virgili will square off against three other Hispanic candidates vying this fall for the seat from the newly created District 25 in southern Florida.

Florida state Rep. Annie Betancourt, a Democrat, is also seeking the District 25 seat, as are Republicans Miguel Diaz de la Portilla - a former Miami-Dade County commissioner - and Mario Diaz-Balart, in what promises to be a tight race.

According to Larry Gonzalez, director of the Washington office of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), Mario Diaz-Balart is the leading candidate because of his popularity and the heavily Republican make-up of the district.

Diaz-Balart, the brother of Cuban-American U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (Rep.-FL), helped draw the district's boundaries while serving in the Florida legislature.

All the candidates, however, are qualified and could win, Gonzalez added.

According to Gonzalez, the presence of more than one Hispanic candidate on election ballots is a growing trend, and not only in Florida.

Several years ago, it was unusual to have one Hispanic running for office but now the presence of several Hispanics running for the same office - both Republicans and Democrats - is "something that we'll see more and more of in future elections," Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez pointed to Arizona, Colorado and Texas, where Democratic and Republican Hispanic candidates are running for public office.

In addition to more candidates, this year's Hispanics have "political experience, the ability to raise campaign funds and real possibilities of winning," Gonzalez said.

Many Hispanic politicians have successfully held public office as council members, mayors and state legislators, and are now aspiring to federal seats.

The rise in the number of Hispanic candidates shows "our community's political development. We are not only 'testing the waters,' but now we can truly win," the NALEO official said.

While less than two decades ago, only five federal legislators were Hispanic, currently there are 23, and more than 6,000 Hispanics now hold public office.

Two of this year's notable Hispanic candidates are Bill Richardson and Tony Sanchez, who are running for governor of New Mexico and Texas, respectively.