Latinos vote in record numbers, making up a third of all voters in the Texas Democratic primary, according to exit polls….

(Fig 1, Pew Hispanic Center, March 7, 2008)

•Sen. Hillary Clinton would not have won primaries in the nation's two largest states -- California and Texas -- if Latinos had not turned out in such large numbers and if they had not voted so heavily in her favor, according to an analysis of exit polling data.(Pew Hispanic Center, March 7, 2008)

•The Texas primary allowed Latinos to see themselves as a political powerhouse at last. And the political parties won't be able to take the Latino vote for granted, said Veronica Vargas Stidvent of the LBJ School of Government at the University of Texas (Dallas Morning News, March 6, 2008).

•"You can credit Latinos for saving Hillary ... consistent with her pattern, she held her base – at least we know she held the Latino base," Antonio Gonzalez, president of the non-partisan William C. Velasquez Institute. (San Antonio Express-News,Mar 6, 2008)

•Close to a million Latinos voted, making the Texas primary historic. (New America Media, March 05, 2008)

•When it came to the popular vote, Clinton had made Hispanic South Texas the foundation of her campaign in the state, and it paid off in a big way with a margin of victory over Obama in Hispanic districts that exceeded 200,000 votes. She carried Hispanic districts with anywhere from 61 percent to 69 percent of the vote. (Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau, March 5, 2008)

•If Sen. Hillary Clinton wins the Texas primary to keep her presidential campaign alive, she can thank Hispanics, who turned out heavily and voted 2-to-1 for the former first lady. (KOENIG / Associated Press, March 5, 2008)

•The state's large Hispanic population was expected to play a determining role in the race, and the early results showed that roughly 30 per cent of votes cast were by Latinos, 63 per cent of whom supported Clinton. Obama won 35 per cent of the Hispanic vote, and dominated among black voters holding a 9-1 edge.(TheStar.com, March 5, 2008)

•In one of the tightest races in memory, the Texas primary brought Latinos to the polls in record numbers – and many of these were women. One of every five votes in Texas was cast by a Latina; Latino men constituted only 14 percent of those who voted… "It's clear that (Latina) women voters were a key base vote in the election," says Lydia Camarillo, SVREP's vice president. Camarillo credits the Clinton and Obama campaigns with the increase in Latino voter participation. "It’s exciting that Latinos were being targeted so heavily by both campaigns," she says. "Both understood and invested in the Latino electorate in ways we've never seen." (New America Media, March 05, 2008)
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Hispanic voters can flex their muscles in Texas
Column - David Almager
The Amarillo Globe-News Online
Opinion Column
Publication Date: 02/23/08



DALLAS - First it was Nevada and Florida, then California, New York and New Mexico, all states with significant Latino populations that painted a clearer picture of who Latino voters will support in the Democratic Party's nomination process.

Sen. Hillary Clinton left Super Tuesday with strong momentum among Latino voters, setting the stage for the ever-important March 4 Texas primary where Latinos could comprise more than 25 percent of all Democratic votes.

But will her momentum hold over the next few weeks as the vigorous fight for Texas votes becomes intense?

A win in delegate-rich Texas could for the first time in several decades play a significant role in the selection of a presidential nominee.

Look for the Clinton camp, led by long-time Clinton supporters like former San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros, U.S. Reps. Silvestre Reyes, Henry Cuellar, Solomon Ortiz and a slew of state and local political activist to target Latino voters across the state, especially along the voter-rich Rio Grande Valley.

Andy Hernandez, a political science professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, notes that Latino voters "know her (Sen. Clinton) and they like her better."
Latino voters of all ages have not yet forgotten the long-standing connection that Sen. Clinton and her husband have had with the Latino community.

Clinton appointed a large number of Latinos to important administration positions during his presidency.

Among those was the appointment of now-New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and later secretary of Energy.

Let us not also forget that President Clinton garnered more Latino votes than any other U.S. president before him.

But will this long-standing loyalty distinguish Sen. Clinton's support within the Latino community from that of her Democratic rival?

All indications are that Sen. Barack Obama will also be making a strong fight for the Latino vote, lining up his own Texas heavyweights, like Congressman Charlie Gonzalez of San Antonio and garnering an important endorsement from the Mexican-American Democrats.

A massive turnout of Latino voters in Texas and across the country could mean the demise for the so called "Bush Effect," which gradually swayed Latino voters to the Republican Party over the past two presidential elections.

All indications are that this political shift toward the left may have occurred as a direct result of the vicious anti-immigration sentiment that permeated the national debate on immigration reform over the last several years.

A recent study by the Pew Hispanic Center noted that 57 percent of Latino registered voters currently align themselves with the Democratic Party.

Most of those surveyed also believed that policies of the Bush administration have been more harmful than helpful to the Latino community.

What a difference four years can make in the political world as we are reminded of the close to 40 percent national Latino vote garnered by President Bush in 2004.

The Latino community is the fastest-growing minority group in the country, making up approximately 14 percent of the U.S. population. Estimates indicate that 9.3 million Latinos could potentially participate in the 2008 elections, an increase of 23 percent from four years ago.

With only days remaining before the Texas primary, be assured that an all out press will be waged in both the English and Spanish language media for the hearts and souls of Latino voters.

It was approximately two years ago that I wrote an opinion piece for the Amarillo Globe-News titled "Future of U.S. politics may be forged by Latinos."

Perhaps that future may come sooner than I thought. The March 4 primary is a call to action for Texans, and Latino voters have the potential to influence U.S. politics like never before.

David Almager, a former Amarillo resident, lives in Dallas. He is a doctoral student at Walden University's School of Public Policy and Administration.

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