Courting Latino voters in Texas

Hillary Clinton is banking on her popularity with Latinos to help her win Texas, as it did in Arizona, California and New Mexico. That’s why she stopped recently in this border city. In San Antonio last week, Barack Obama drew a crowd of thousands, and brought up issues of bilingual education. Even Republican John McCain is campaigning hard in Texas. He’s thinking ahead to the general election and doesn’t want to antagonize the Latino vote and had to answer questions of federal domain and border security. The Latino vote is more complicated than many assume, and this politician explains the Latino voters are not a homogenous voting group and can’t be courted with singulary politics. Many leading Latino politicians are voting for Clinton. This woman says that endorsement helped her make up her mind for Clinton. Because of Clinton’s long standing political connections, she’s able to tap into the Democratic Party’s hierarchy which in the southwest is mainly Latino. Obama has to chip away at the Latino vote as opposed to outright win it. Some think Latinos are reluctant to vote for an African-American. For other Latinos, McCain is an attractive candidate. This man was appealed to McCain’s military history and service to the country, and his moderate stance on illegal immigration. Don’t forget about Mike Huckabee who’s still running for the Republican nomination. His conservative values resonate with many Latino voters who tend to be deeply religious. While record Latino voting is expected, the impact could be muted because of the way delegate votes are divided up.