“Securing the votes of the country’s largest and fastest-growing minority group is a leading goal of both major parties in the 2004 election.”

- Steve Terrell,
“Candidates Gather for N.M. Debate”
The Santa Fe New Mexican

“Adding to the historic nature of next year’s Presidential election, Hispanics, broadly defined, are now the largest minority population in the United States. Now more than 38.8 million strong, they are rapidly commanding new influence on American culture and society. This election will be more or a test of the diverse Hispanic community’s voting influence during the primaries and general election than in previous years.”

- Adam J. Segal
Director, Hispanic Voter Project
“Hispanic Tuesday: The Hispanic Vote and
2004 Democratic Primaries”
La Prensa, San Diego (July 25, 2003)

“At some level, this community’s vote is up for grabs,” said Cecilia Munoz, a vice president at NCLR. “There is a widespread sense that this segment of the electorate is terribly important. It’s important because it’s concentrated in the big electoral states, and increasingly, it could provide the margin in a lot of key swing states — New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada.”

- The Associated Press
“Dems Woo Hispanic Voters”
July 10, 2003

“The Hispanic vote is valued not only at the local level in areas with heavy concentrations of Hispanics, but also because they have become swing voters at the state level for some Senate seats and in Presidential elections. Hispanic voters in states with large Latino populations — including California, Florida, Illinois, New York and Texas — are seen as critical to winning the national election. Together, these five states represent 85 percent of the Electoral College votes needed to win a Presidential election. Although the Hispanic vote skews toward Democratic candidates 70 percent of the time, as a group they are not a guaranteed Democrat block with a significant portion, especially younger Latinos, viewing themselves as Independents.”

- Christian Bourge
UPI Congressional & Policy Correspondent
“Analysis: Parties vie for Hispanic Vote”
The Washington Times (Sept 19, 2003)