Maria Elena Salinas on top of the Latino vote
Miami, Fla,_ In a recent column the woman who has become the Spanish language “voice of the Latino community” called the upcoming presidential race a toss up or jump ball of sorts.
She laid out the pitfalls of our process of elimination selection and how it is and will be difficult for supporters of one candidate to move to the eventual winner. That is where the case for November was brought to light.
Hillary Clinton won nearly 70% of Latino votes in the Democratic primary, Barack Obama was stuck at 30 – 35% and John McCain’s party is appealing to only 23% of Latino voters. Salinas points out that the dilemma now facing Latinos is the reconsideration of their commitment and choice for president. Obama does indeed have a Latino challenge even with his party advantage. It will be up to Obama, not his surrogates though they are helpful, to take his case directly to the Hispanic community. Salinas’ column is a reminder that Latino voters cannot be taken for granted by either party, something the Democrats have done for many years until this round. Obama does have a built in advantage but McCain is an experienced campaigner in Latino communities who has also been supportive of Latino issues. Because of work by Maria Elena and many of her colleagues many thousands of new citizens have become voters and are the key elements of this year’s Latino voter surge that could become over nine million voters by November. Her final point is the big one – Latinos can not choose to stay home and must continue to stand up for themselves and their family’s future. LEL commends Maria Elena Salinas for her great work and results!
