• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Surge in Hispanic Voters Likely to Play Role in '08

Posted on: Wednesday, 2 July 2008, 09:00 CDT

By Burt Hubbard

The 2006 elections saw a surge in Hispanics going to the polls in Colorado, with percentages well above the national average, according to a U.S. Census report released Tuesday.

The rise has implications for the upcoming presidential election because Colorado is a key swing state, an analyst said.

The report showed that 40 percent of eligible Hispanics in the state voted in 2006. That's up from 32.6 percent in 2002, the previous off-year election, the report said.

And it's more than the 32 percent of eligible Hispanics who voted in 2006 nationally.

Polly Baca, president of the Latin American Research and Service Agency, said the state's passage of laws aimed at immigrants in 2006 motivated Hispanics to vote. That same year, about 50,000 people demonstrated in Denver against government crackdowns on illegal immigrant workers, she said.

"All of that politicized the Latino community," Baca said. "It's exciting. I would suggest that candidates that have been anti- immigration are at risk."

Overall, 54.3 percent of Colorado's citizens voted in 2007, up from 50 percent in 2002, the report said. That ranked 15th nationally, tied with New Mexico. Nationally, 48 percent of citizens voted two years ago.

Women voted in significantly larger numbers than men - 57 percent compared with 51 percent. In 2002, there was little difference between male and female voting.

Kenneth Bickers, chairman of the political science department at the University of Colorado, said the trend in Hispanic voting will have a bearing on the presidential race in the state.

Colorado, along with New Mexico and Nevada, are considered key swing states for Democratic candidate Barack Obama in his battle with Republican John McCain. All three went for George W. Bush in 2004, and all three have large Hispanic populations.

"What this tells me is the Hispanic vote is going to be more important, and it's going to be one of the battleground groups between the two campaigns," Bickers said.

Polls nationally show that Obama is supported by 60 percent of Hispanic voters, he said. Traditionally, Democratic candidates have attracted 75 percent of Hispanic voters, though Bush cut into those margins in 2004, Bickers said.

Originally published by Burt Hubbard, Rocky Mountain News.

(c) 2008 Rocky Mountain News. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

Source: Rocky Mountain News

More News in this Category