Democrats or Republicans, Latinas Are Swaying the Vote

Drain and Latinas for McCain spent part of one Saturday canvassing in Annandale, too, less than a mile from where the Latinas for Obama were at work. Drain's group included her 7-year-old son and her husband, an engineer and a Republican, so no lobbying has been necessary at home.

Why McCain?

The Latinas for McCain cite moral values. He is antiabortion and for "the sanctity of marriage."

They give McCain enduring credit for being a champion of immigration reform, even if lately he has somewhat modified his approach to the issue. "For the girls in my foundation, the Dream Act is the most important thing," Drain says, referring to a bill that would give high school graduates who arrived illegally as children a chance to acquire legal status and receive college financial aid.

(McCain was an early co-sponsor the Dream Act, but last year he skipped a vote that would have advanced it in the Senate. McCain's spokesmen did not return three phone calls for comment on his current position. Obama supports the act.)

They admire Sarah Palin, a strong woman rising so high. For all the Democrats' snickering about her recently acquired passport, the Latinas for McCain wonder why the supposedly worldly Obama has spent so little time in Latin America, and why he is skeptical of free trade with their countries.

"Another thing you find with Latinas and Hispanics in general is, back home, they had a little shop, a tiendita, and we're carrying those traditions here," says Fabiola Francisco, daughter of a Bolivian immigrant, active in the family enterprises here that include government contracting and an imported-crafts store. "Less taxes goes perfectly with an entrepreneur."

"Obama's plan would kill my business," says Marilyn Ehrhardt, referring to the Democrat's tax plan. "Whether I want to or not, I can't afford to vote for him."

Ehrhardt's family came from Cuba. Her company provides information technology to health clinics serving the poor. She is one worried Latina, and so she is voting for McCain:

"This election triggered me to become politically active. I'm a naturalized U.S. citizen. I came here for the values this country offered, dealing with personal responsibility, market freedom. I see those in jeopardy. The economy is in jeopardy. Security is in jeopardy."

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The De La Inés hair and beauty salon in the Chevy Chase neighborhood of Northwest Washington is busy on a recent Sunday afternoon, but the women (and a couple of men) sitting before the tall mirrors or beneath the hair dryers are not being styled.