Latino Voices Heard

By Julia Bencomo Lobaco
and Fresia Rodríguez Cadavid
November 2008

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After decades of use, the tired metaphor of the “sleeping giant” can be tossed. More than 10 million Hispanics woke up and went to the polls November 4—compared to 7.6 million in the 2004 presidential election—helping turn red states blue and adding to Sen. Barack Obama’s overwhelming victory in the Electoral College.

Nationwide, 63 percent of Hispanic voters ages 45-plus cast their ballots for Obama, and about 35 percent for Republican rival Sen. John McCain, according to CNN.com’s 2008 presidential election exit polls. Among ethnic and racial groups, only African Americans gave a higher percentage of their vote to Obama.

Roberto Suro, professor of journalism at the University of Southern California and former director of the Pew Hispanic Center, credits Hispanics with a key role in the creation of what he calls a “blue blob” in the Mountain West. Obama won Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada—three states that went to Republican candidate George W. Bush in 2004—and according to CNN exit polls, the Illinois senator won 73 percent of the Latino vote in Colorado, 69 percent in New Mexico, and 78 percent in Nevada. 

In Colorado, where no Democrat had won a presidential race in 16 years, Obama’s victory is the result of a desire for change, period, says U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.), who campaigned for his party’s nominee. “Coloradans [are]… tired of the ideological, partisan leadership of the past and want problem-solvers who will work together, across the aisle, to put our country back on track,” he says. Salazar also credits the “unprecedented sheer scope and focus of [Obama’s] campaign”—with more than 50 field offices in 64 counties—for helping reach out to the state’s Hispanics. 

"Hispanics vote their interests; they vote for the candidate that is listening to them and is willing to respond to their needs. They are willing to swing one way or another." —Arturo Vargas, NALEO Educational Fund

Despite the overall lopsided vote for Democrats, Danny Vargas, the Republican National Hispanic Assembly’s national chairman, sees a silver lining in the election. “It’s great to see the Hispanic community engaged in the political process,” he says. “Hispanics showed a great level of interest not only in registering to vote, but casting a ballot as well.”

That was true for Ana Rodriguez, 51, of Catonsville, Maryland. Neither a Democrat nor Republican, she says that for the first time in her life she was compelled to volunteer and donate money to a political campaign. “I was moved by the fact that President-elect Obama made it clear that it’s our responsibility to participate in our government,” the Puerto Rico native says. “In going to the polls, my priority was getting a new way of thinking into the White House that will reflect in our government, economy, environment, and foreign policy.”

And in Virginia, which also went Democratic after 44 years of voting for a Republican presidential candidate, attorney Luis Parada says he was politically reenergized. The 48-year-old Vienna resident considered himself a Republican when he first arrived in the United States from El Salvador more than a decade ago. But, he says, “I got the impression that the GOP was about representing corporate interests.” He adds, “Obama’s message of hope and change was very convincing. He had the credibility, vision, and judgment for change. The whole world is waiting for the United States to retake its position of leadership.”

Down in Florida, which also went into the Obama column—and where 57 percent of Latinos voted for the Democrat—the Hispanic influence could be harder to pin down, says USC’s Suro. “Understanding the Latino vote in Florida will take some time because it is such a heterogeneous vote now,” he says. Hispanics “were one important factor in Florida, but it’s hard to know how much credit to give them” for Obama’s victory in the Sunshine State.
 
But Arturo Vargas, the NALEO Educational Fund executive director (and no relation to Danny Vargas), isn’t as reluctant to give Hispanics credit for helping swing Florida Obama’s way. “[President George W.] Bush took Florida in 2004 with the Latino vote,” he says, “and this year Latinos swung the other way.” Hispanics, he adds, “vote their interests; they vote for the candidate that is listening to them and is willing to respond to their needs. They are willing to swing one way or another.”

The Republican Party’s Danny Vargas points to the re-election of three of Florida’s GOP U.S. representatives—Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and brothers Mario and Lincoln Diaz-Balart—as a testament to that. Though Florida turned blue, he explains that the split victory demonstrates that Hispanics look at the candidate versus party affiliation before voting. “This proves that all candidates will have to put forth a real effort to communicate effectively with the Hispanic community,” he says.

And now? “I would hope that the next administration and Congress are going to understand [Latinos’] impact and put a focus on their issues,” NALEO’s Vargas says, listing the economy, the war, health, and immigration reform as the top concerns of Hispanic voters. “This is an indication of how people are hurting. They can’t afford health care, and they have family members serving in Iraq. They want their sons, grandsons, daughters, and granddaughters back home.”

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