Latino Vote Is Critical On Super Tuesday

Can Obama Win Latino Tuesday?
February 04, 2008

Will it be a Super Latino Tuesday for Barack Obama?

As Super Tuesday looms, reports abound that the Latino vote will not only play a critical role in determining the winner of tomorrow's contests across the country but could factor heavily in determining the victor in the general election.

Of the states up for grabs in tomorrow's primaries, several, including California, Arizona, New Mexico, New York and New Jersey, have significant Latino populations. In California alone, Latinos represent almost 20 percent of the population.

It's a fact that hasn't gone unnoticed by the campaigns of Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. An article in the Financial Times reports that the Obama campaign is running commercials in heavy rotation on Spanish-language channel Univision for Latino audiences in California. "I think it's important for us to get my record known before the Latino community," Obama told reporters on the campaign trail in northern Nevada, reported The New York Times. "My history is excellent with Latino supporters back in Illinois because they knew my record."

Obama's national field director, Temo Figueroa, told the Financial Times that the campaign is making a concerted effort to reach out to Latino communities. "We're spending more money on Latino TV and radio than has ever been spent in a presidential primary. Latinos have never had this amount of attention before," he said.

According to the article in The New York Times, Latinos accounted for 16 percent of the vote in the California primary, 11 percent in New York, 17 percent in Arizona and 9 percent in Florida in 2004.

Obama already has a strong contingent of Latino officials stumping for him in California, including Maria Elena Duranzo, secretary treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labour, and Denver mayor Federico Pena, who is also a former cabinet member of President Bill Clinton's administration, reports The Financial Times. Obama also picked up the endorsement of Maria Shriver, wife of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

But will the attention pay off for the Obama campaign? The New York Times speculates a history of tension between Latino and Black communities may make it difficult for Obama to turn out Latino voters in great numbers. But Obama believes once the word gets out, Latinos will see him as a viable option on voting day.

"It's very important for me to communicate that, to advertise on Spanish-speaking television, to make clear my commitments," Obama said.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a Latino who was recently seeking the Democratic nomination before dropping out of the race, has yet to endorse Obama or Clinton. But some news outlets noted with interest that Richardson watched yesterday's Super Bowl with Bill Clinton.