Battle Emerges Over Latino Votes

Democrats note that 92 percent of the nation's elected Latino officials belong to their party. They say their party's positions on immigration and education give them a natural advantage with most Hispanics.

House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.) has focused intensely on the Latino vote lately, studying Spanish in Mexico, appearing almost weekly on Spanish-language television and hiring a full-time aide to reach out to Hispanic journalists. Gephardt issues a weekly column in Spanish, holds roundtables with Spanish-language reporters and editorial boards and, like the White House, now has a Spanish-language Web site.

But Democratic pollster Sergio Bendixen -- who recently conducted a survey of Latino voters for the centrist New Democrat Network and Menendez -- warns that Bush has developed a warm rapport with Hispanics similar to the bond that former president Bill Clinton enjoyed with African Americans. His poll showed that Bush is now almost even with Gore in popularity among Latinos. And although congressional Republicans do not enjoy similar ratings, respondents said they were nearly 40 percent more likely to support a candidate endorsed by Bush.

"President Bush will be a very positive weapon for the Republicans, and a very dangerous weapon for the Democratic Party when it comes to the November elections," Bendixen said.

Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (Va.), chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, predicted Bush will campaign for several vulnerable House members, providing them with a seal of approval among Latino voters.

Meanwhile, Puerto Rico Sen. Kenneth D. McClintock, a member of the Democratic National Committee, cautioned that his party has not done enough to woo recent immigrants, whom strategists call "opportunity Hispanics" because they are not yet partial to government programs or one of the major parties.

"Once a Hispanic votes for a Republican one time, you've lost your political virginity and become a swing voter," he said.

But Democratic officials say they have a multiyear, multimillion-dollar campaign to reinforce their existing ties with Latinos. The party is conducting Hispanic-only polls and focus groups for the first time. Hispanic Democrats in the House have launched a political action committee and fundraising blitz to steer hundreds of thousands of dollars to several high-profile Latino candidates this year.

Clark County Commissioner Dario Herrera (D), who hopes Latinos will give him the edge in his closely contested race against state Sen. Jon Porter (R) in Nevada's new 3rd District, said Hispanics will "have a big impact on races across America."

"Fortunately I think Democrats are responding with public policy ideas, and Republicans are responding to them with symbolic gestures," Herrera said.

Latinos make up 15 percent of the district's population, and Porter has courted them as well. Last year he joined Herrera in pushing successfully for a permanent Mexican consulate in Las Vegas.

But Herrera -- whose popularity dipped this spring after he battled allegations that he improperly aided his wife's business and received a public relations contract from the city's housing authority -- sees Latino voters as essential to his victory this fall.

A 29-year-old Cuban American, Herrera was in the George Federal Building to chat with newly sworn-in citizens one Friday in June. The next morning he braved nearly 100-degree heat to launch a registration drive in one of his district's predominantly Latino neighborhoods. Chatting in Spanish as he went door to door with his wife and aides, he assured prospective voters it would take only "un momentico" to fill out the necessary forms.

Northeast Las Vegas proved fertile ground for Herrera, who spoke with gardener Ernesto Senda about his children and teased Ricardo Bravo's younger brother as he darted around the family's garage. Senda and Bravo signed on as Democrats, praising Bush but suggesting they preferred the Democrats' views on education and immigration.

"Democrats have been known to help out a lot of minorities, which I am a part of," said Bravo, a casino pay clerk. But even as he pledged his loyalty to the Democrats, Bravo indicated Herrera would have to fight for his vote.

"I'm still looking at both sides," he said.