A Few Things Obama And McCain Should Know About The Latino Vote

An unidentified Mexican family in Omaha, Nebraska, August 15, 1922.

The Latino vote is a tricky vote that requires candidates to be strategic, sensitive, and informed. How well Barack Obama or John McCain tackle the issue of immigration reform is not going to get all the Latino voters jumping in the bandwagon. There is no easy answer as to how Latinos choose their candidates or why they vote the way they do. Having a good understanding of who Latinos are in America can shed some light into who they may pick this November. And, with 9 million of them voting, it's worth taking a good look.

THE BASICS ABOUT LATINOS
Racially, Latinos can be classified as either, white, black, Asian, Arab, or Pacific Islander. Nonetheless, as a whole, Latinos are an ethnic minority in America. Not all Latinos are poor immigrants and not all Latinos like to listen to Rancheras. Mexicans are one large block of the Latino population, but not all Latinos are Mexican. There are light skin Latinos that are as white as Patrick Henry and there are Latinos who are darker because of their indigenous background or because of African roots.

There are first generation immigrants who have recently made the US their home. These Latinos may tend to vote heavily Democrat because they are more supportive of social programs and immigrant rights. And, there are fourth and third generation Latinos that arrived to the US at the same time the Irish and Italians did decades ago. These Latinos may vote Republican, but they can also vote Democrat.

EDUCATION OF POTENTIAL VOTERS
Education levels among Latinos are very important. A lot of recent immigrants tend to have low levels of education, but there are also many new Latino immigrants that went to college and held professional careers in their home countries. Latinos who were born in the US also tend to have different levels of education depending on their socioeconomic background.

RELIGION OF POTENTIAL VOTERS
Religious backgrounds also make this block of voters tough to crack. There are tons of new Latino immigrants that are deeply evangelical, but there are also tons more that are very Catholic. This is why issues like gay marriage and abortion may not always resonate well among Latino voters. However, US-born Latinos that are not evangelical or Catholic tend to be more tolerant.

STANCES ON WAR & PEACE
To make this even more interesting, newer Latino immigrants tend to be people of peace. Central American immigrants from El Salvador, for example, tend to be pacifists because of the hardships they endured in their war-torn country. Many immigrants also suffered under regimes that the US government supported. Ronald Reagan, in particular, had a heavy hand in wars that occurred in Central and South America during the 1980's.

WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN?
In a nutshell, the Latino vote is not something Democrats or Republicans can court easily. There is a fine line to walk in order to reach and peak the interest of Latino voters. Still, with 9 million register voters that identify as Latino, the candidates have no time to waste if they are to win this vote. Let's not forget that John Kerry lost the last election by an estimated 6,000 votes.

Of the 13 key battleground states in this election, 4 states have heavy Latino constituencies: Florida, New Mexico, Nevada, and Colorado. This is again, an important reason why the Latino vote is going to be crucial in this election.

OBAMA'S CHALLENGE
When Obama and McCain spoke with members of the League of United Latino American Citizens (LULAC) on Tuesday, they spoke about immigration reform, but they also had to talk about health care, education, the economy, and other issues that impact the lives of Latinos in the same way they impact the lives of white and black Americans in this country.

Immigration reform is going to be the main dish in the platform that Obama and McCain use to attract Latinos. Many of those 9 million voters are voting for the first time as naturalized US-citizens and that issue will matter to them. In this case, McCain may have the upper hand just because he has been talking about secure borders and legalization for undocumented immigrants for many years now. Hopefully Latinos will learn that McCain has said recently that he will not support that type of legislation anymore. Of course, we know that he is changing now because the Republican party is SO divided over this issue.

But ultimately the challenge to get a piece of the 9 million votes is for Obama. Unlike Hillary Clinton and McCain, he is someone Latinos are just learning about. Clinton was familiar to Latinos because they had seen her be first lady twice and then Senator of a state with millions of Latinos, New York. For this reason, Obama said in his speech Tuesday, "I can't do this on my own, I need your help."

THE ROLE OF SPANISH MEDIA
For recent immigrant voters, Spanish-language media will have a huge role on how well Latinos get to know Obama. Univision and Telemundo the two biggest Latino TV networks are headed by Republican-leaning bosses, so that right there is going to stink for Obama. That means that a good on the ground strategy may be needed by the Senator from Illinois. Canvassing Latino neighborhoods, using the airwaves, the Internet, etc. may make the difference. Let's wish Mr. Obama some "buena suerte" and that McCain says something publicly that is stupid enough to turn off his Latino supporters.

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