In a First, a Candidate Forum in Translation

And the candidates were eager to connect their experiences with those of the Latino community.

Clinton noted that her campaign manager, Patti Solis Doyle, is a Latina, while Obama likened the work of labor activist Cesar Chavez to that of Martin Luther King Jr.

Former senator John Edwards (N.C.) bragged that the small town where he grew up, Robbins, N.C., "is now half Latino." And Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (Ohio) said Spanish should become a second national language, a stance that Dodd and Richardson would not adopt.

Richardson, the only Latino running for president, was the most explicit he has been in this campaign in discussing his Mexican American heritage and in identifying himself with Latino issues.

"I am of the view that Latinos can make a difference in this presidential election," he said. "Forty-three million of us all around the country can decide not just what is best for Latinos but what is best for America."

Latinos make up the nation's largest minority group, about 14 percent of Americans, but they represent only about 9 percent of the electorate because of lower citizenship and participation rates. Still, their votes are coveted, in part because Latinos are regarded as a group still up for grabs between Democrats and Republicans, and because their numbers are particularly strong in several states Democrats regard as must-wins, such as Florida, California and New York.

Clinton leads national polls of Latino voters by a wide margin, and she has gained the support of Latino politicians such as Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.).

But her Democratic rivals are aggressively courting other Latino leaders. Federico Pe?a, a Cabinet member in the Clinton administration, announced on the eve of the forum that he is backing Obama.

Univision had scheduled a forum for Republican candidates next week, but only Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) said he would attend. Several other candidates cited scheduling conflicts.

Democrats see an opportunity to peel off Latino voters in 2008 because of the opposition of many leading Republicans, including almost all of the party's White House candidates, to President Bush's policy that would create a citizenship path for some illegal immigrants -- a policy that some have labeled "amnesty."