GOP Hopes to Make Inroads With Hispanics

Democratic presidential hopeful New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson responds to a question about NAFTA during a presidential forum hosted by the AFL-CIO at Soldier Field in Chicago, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2007. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) (Charles Rex Arbogast - AP)

Hispanics identify themselves as Democrats by at least a 2-1 margin, but younger people are more likely to register as independents and are more willing to split tickets, said Lindsay Daniels, a voter registration coordinator for the National Council of La Raza, the nation's largest Hispanic advocacy group.

Younger voters in the country "are not sold necessarily on one party or the other," she said. "Latinos are very similar."

To Gonzalez, "the big story is the growth of independents."

Democratic pollster Andre Pineda, who is advising New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson's presidential campaign, conducted research after the November 2006 elections that identified a generational shift in Hispanic voter patterns.

Pineda said Hispanic immigrants who become citizens and register to vote become Democrats in nearly 70 percent of the cases, with Republican registration at 18 percent. In the next generation, Democratic registration drops to 56 percent and GOP registration increases to 25 percent. By the third U.S.-born generation, Democratic and Republican registration among Hispanics is nearly equal.

While newer arrivals to the United States feel more strongly about immigration issues, subsequent generations share the concerns of Main Street America _ the war, taxes, education, crime, he said.

"We need to ... make our case on those issues, otherwise we are going to lose them," Pineda said.

GOP polling in the California governor's race last year found that college-educated Hispanics who make more than $60,000 a year are more receptive to Republican ideas than are those with less education and income.

Such findings are mirrored in the experience of Angel Sanchez. The 35-year-old Riverside banker grew up in a home with deep Hispanic roots _ he was taught to trust the Roman Catholic church, work hard, and on election day, to vote Democratic.

But as a young man he registered as a Republican, drawn to the party's messages on limited government, law and order and national defense. His parents reacted as if he'd broken faith.

"They thought almost to the point I was being foolish," recalled Sanchez, who's now active in Republican politics. He says the party is doing a better job of reaching out to Hispanics and now counts his parents among the converts.

Republican media consultant Frank Guerra, who worked on Bush's campaigns, said Hispanics are becoming more discerning in political choices as well as consumer purchasing.

"They are not just going to give away their vote anymore," Guerra said. "We were deeply brand-loyal. It's changing."