Contrary to conventional wisdom, newly naturalized U.S. citizens may be more fertile ground than the U.S.-born Latino population for Republican recruitment. The Wall Street Journal reports that Democrat pollster Sergio Bendixen found that “naturalized voters—immigrants who have become U.S. citizens—make up the swing block within the Hispanic population. ‘U.S.-born Latinos already have a fixed position and consistently vote 65% to 35% for Democrats against Republicans,’ said the pollster. Immigrants, by contrast, ‘vote heavily for Democrats but are very susceptible to be wooed by the Republicans.’ ”

In 2004, the Democrats announced that Florida, Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico would be key battleground states for the Latino Vote. Thanks to the efforts of the Latino Alliance in the 2004 election, President Bush carried those states and won the election, with 44 percent of Latinos voting Republican. President Bush’s unprecedented support came despite the fact that Democrats made efforts to boost their support among Latinos. According to The Wall Street Journal, the New Democrats, a group aimed at registering new Latino citizens as Democrats, spent “at least $2 million to roll out their ads [in 2004], trying to set the Democratic tone as the campaign gather[ed] steam.”

“The more Hispanics learn about what the Republican Party really stands for, the more they learn about what Republicans are actually doing that will directly and genuinely benefit them, the more they’ll vote Republican.”

- Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL), [Understanding the Importance of the Hispanic Vote From the American Hispanic,] September-December 1999

The Latino Alliance intends to raise $4 million for the 2006 election cycle, using an aggressive campaign of direct mail solicitations and outreach to major donors.

Already, key Republicans have offered their support, including all Latino Republicans in Congress: Henry Bonilla, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Mario Diaz-Balart, Illeana Ros-Lehtinen; Majority Whip Tom DeLay, and Senators Mitch McConnell and John Kyl.

The Latino Alliance will use these resources to run newspaper, radio, and television ads in targeted markets to persuade Latino voters that the Republican Party best represents their values and aspirations. These ads will represent a significant independent expenditure to boost Republican chances in key Congressional races.

Democrats know that the Latino vote is up for grabs. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Governor Bill Richardson (D-NM) has formed a new organization, Moving America Forward, which will, fund Latino voter mobilization in four key states (Florida, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico). The total effort will cost about $4 million, and the group expects support from union-linked organizations like Voices for Working Families, or that which have committed funding toward Hispanic voter registration drives.

Without the help of major donors, Republicans will not be able to counter this huge commitment of Democratic resources aimed at retaining the Latino vote.