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The Washington
Times
www.washingtontimes.com
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.
Copyright © 2004
News World Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
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