Campaigns woo Hispanics for crucial votes

The Washington Times
www.washingtontimes.com

Campaigns woo Hispanics for crucial votes

By Judith Person
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
http://www.washingtontimes.com/metro/20041030-113727-9393r.htm
Published October 31, 2004

With just two days remaining before the national election, Democratic and Republican campaign workers were increasingly saying, "Se habla Espanol" during the campaign as they hunted for votes in the metropolitan area.
    "It is true that [candidates] realize that the Spanish vote is a must, and it is getting bigger and bigger," said Federico G. Morales, chairman for the Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Virginia.
    More than 329,000 Hispanics live in Virginia, about 5 percent of the state's population, according to the 2000 census.
    Though exact statistics are hard to come by, one Hispanic research group, the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute, estimates that one in seven to one in 11 Hispanics votes.
    The Census Bureau said in March 2003 that Hispanics are now the nation's largest minority group, ahead of blacks. Hispanics make up 13.3 percent of the population in the Northeast.
    For the first time, the Fairfax County Republican Committee has teamed up with the Hispanic Assembly to focus on the community. In Maryland, Democrats are using many of the same strategies to inspire patriotism among Hispanics.
    Neither Republicans nor Democrats in the District returned calls from The Washington Times.
    "Latino interest in this election is at an all-time high," said Adam Ortiz, Maryland field director for the Kerry-Edwards campaign.
    The Kerry campaign in Maryland has about 50 Spanish-speaking volunteers spread out among Baltimore and Anne Arundel, Montgomery and Prince George's counties.
    Mr. Ortiz said many of the volunteers have tried to reach Hispanic voters by staffing outreach tables at grocery stores and shopping centers.
    "Like most people, Hispanics believe this is a very important election." he said.
    Ginny Peters, chairwoman for the Fairfax Democratic Committee, said party members there also have reached out to Hispanic voters. For example, sample ballots were written in Spanish, and multilingual volunteers participated in voter-registration programs to help potential Hispanic voters.
    Mrs. Peters said Hispanic voters also believe that voting for Mr. Kerry is a step toward repealing the Patriot Act, by which they feel threatened.
    "They will do everything possible to make their lives better," she said. "They would be hard-pressed not to vote."
    Hispanics traditionally have voted Democratic. However, pollster Stan Greenberg estimated that Republicans received 39 percent of the Hispanic vote across the nation in 2002, a record level for the party in a midterm election.
    Both parties in the metropolitan area have recruited Spanish-speaking volunteers to work the phones to reach Hispanics. Volunteers cull voter-registrations records looking for Hispanic surnames, then call those households in Spanish with a pitch for their candidate, Mr. Morales said.
    "It is so much fun to hear the excitement in their voice when we call in their language," said Luis Borunda, chairman of the Hispanic Republicans of Maryland.
    Both parties have created Spanish-language flyers, signs and sample ballots. And they say their Spanish bumper stickers are going like hot cakes. Among them are "Unidos Con John Kerry," meaning "United With John Kerry," and "Veba Bush," meaning "Hooray Bush."
    Mr. Borunda said he thinks the Hispanic vote is going to play a significant role in this election in many jurisdictions across the nation, including Maryland. Like many others working with campaigns, he expects Hispanic votes will be significant because of their growing numbers.
    "Hispanics were not expected to become the majority minority so soon," he said, "but when the report showed that was the case, marketers from retailers to campaigners began to target them."
    Mr. Borunda is campaigning solely to Hispanics throughout Maryland for the Republican Party, and the battleground is the same as in the Kerry campaign -- Baltimore and Montgomery and Prince George's counties.
    Officials say that education is the No. 1 campaign issue among Hispanics, in contrast to the majority of the population, who lists homeland security as the No. 1 issue.
    "Otherwise, the issues are the same for both groups," Mr. Borunda said.

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