Hispanic Vote Key to Victory in Texas

Hispanics make up about 36% of Texas's population and about 21% of registered voters thus making them a key swing vote on Tueday's primary. According to the BBC and Lydia Camarillo, vice president of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, the candidate that garners at least 40% of the Hispanic vote to win Texas.

Texas Too Close to Call

According to polls conducted by SurveyUSA and CNN, Texas is too close to call. Among all voters, Senator Clinton leads Senator Obama 50% to 45%. But in the polls, Clinton leads among Hispanic voters by a 2-to-1 margin. SurveyUSA, which conducted the poll, estimates that Hispanic voters comprise 32% of Democratic primary voters in Texas. Therefore, according to KTVT in Dallas, if Hispanic voters turn out in large numbers, Clinton’s overall lead will be larger than the 5 points shown in these results.

The Focus Now Turns to Latino Voters in Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania

With Senator Obama and Senator Clinton running a close race, the number of delegates from Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania have now become the main battleground in the race for the Democratic nomination. Twenty percent, or 2.6 million, of registered voters in Texas, have Hispanic surnames, according to the latest figures available from the Secretary of State's Office. In Ohio approximate 2.3% of population is Latino (approx 250,000 people) and in Pennsylvania approximate 4.2% of population is Latino (approx 500,000 people). According to Arturo Vargas, executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, "Latinos are a key element of any candidate's winning strategy for the White House, and that's going to hold true for the Democratic nominee as well as the Republican."

Zogby: Obama Surges Past Clinton in National Poll

According toa recent Zogby poll, Senator Obama has surged past Senator Clinton to open a big national lead in the Democratic presidential race. Obama also leads Senator John MacCaine in a potential November election match-up.

Latinos Vote in Large Numbers in Potomac Primaries

According to exit polls, Senator Obama won the Hispanic vote in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. Exit poll results also demolished widely-held notions that Latinos are unwilling to support a black candidate.

Obama and Clinton Seek to Build Latino Support for Potomac Primaries

Obama and Clinton's split decision on Super Tuesday have made the Potomac Primaries pivotal. As such, both Obama and Clinton campaigns are making concerted efforts to obtain the support the Latinos in Maryland, Virginia and the Ditrict of Columbia for the February 12 primaries where 168 delegates are at stake. Currently Clinton leads in pledged delegates, 811 to 794, according to the Associated Press.

Super Tuesday Latino Vote a Watershed Moment

According to Tyche Hendricks and Anastasia Ustinova of the San Francisco Chronicle, "A surge in new citizenship and voter registration among Latinos combined with the highly competitive primaries on Super Tuesday to make this presidential election season a turning point in national Latino political influence." The results also seem to confirm that Senator Clinton has built a clear lead in attracting Latino voters in this race. According to an MSNBC exit poll, Clinton won a majority of Latino votes in several states with high proportions of Latino voters, including New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and California .

Latinos a Key Voting Bloc on Super Tuesday

The eligible Hispanc voters in key states on Tuesday make up a significant portion of the electorate. According to the Pew Hispanic Center, California has approximately 4,990,000 Hispanic voters or a 22.8% share, Arizona has 678,000 Hispanic voters or 17% a share, Colorado has 405,000 Hispanic voters or a 12.3% share, New York has 1,480,000 Hispanic voters or a 11.4% share, and New Jersey has 579,000 Hispanic voters or a 9.9% share.

Hispanics in the Presidential 2008 Election

According to the Pew Hispanic Center, Hispanics will have a major effect on the 2008 presidential election. The following data was obtained from the Pew Hispanic Center's report which analyzed the U.S. Census Bureau's 2006 American Community Survey.

Arizona

Arizona's Hispanic population is the sixth-largest in the nation. Nearly 1.8 million Hispanics reside in Arizona, 4% of all Hispanics in the United States. There are 673,000 eligible Hispanic voters in Arizona, 4% of all U.S. Hispanic eligible voters.

California

California's Hispanic population is the largest of any state in the nation. More than 13 million Hispanics reside in California, 30% of all Hispanics in the United States. There are over 5 million eligible Hispanic voters in California, 28% of all U.S. Hispanic eligible voters.

Colorado

Colorado's Hispanic population is eighth-largest in the nation. More than 927,000 Hispanics reside in Colorado, 2% of all Hispanics in the United States. There are over 404,000 eligible Hispanic voters in Colorado, 2% of all U.S. Hispanic eligible voters.

Illinois

Illinois's Hispanic population is the fifth-largest in the nation. Nearly 1.9 million Hispanics reside in Illinois, 4% of all Hispanics in the United States. There are over 708,000 eligible Hispanic voters in Illinois, 4% of all U.S. Hispanic eligible voters.

Massachusetts

Massachusetts's Hispanic population is the fifteenth-largest in the nation. More than 509,000 Hispanics reside in Massachusetts, 1% of all Hispanics in the United States. There are 246,000 eligible Hispanic voters in Massachusetts, 1% of all U.S. Hispanic eligible voters.

New Jersey

New Jersey's Hispanic population is the seventh-largest in the nation. More than 1.4 million Hispanics reside in New Jersey, 3% of all Hispanics in the United States. There are 588,000 eligible Hispanic voters in New Jersey, 3% of all U.S. Hispanic eligible voters.

New Mexico

New Mexico's Hispanic population is the ninth-largest in the nation. More than 874,000 Hispanics reside in New Mexico, 2% of all Hispanics in the United States. There are 501,000 eligible Hispanic voters in New Mexico, 3% of all U.S. Hispanic eligible voters.

New York

New York's Hispanic population is the fourth-largest in the nation. More than 3 million Hispanics reside in New York, 7% of all Hispanics in the United States. There are 1.5 million eligible Hispanic voters in New York, 8% of all U.S. Hispanic eligible voters.