Luring Latinos

I have been blogging that Texas will be a major contest where both Democratic candidates would aggressively court Latino voters. It presents Obama his last opportunity to demonstrate that he can compete among Latinos, and at the same time Latinos are a major constituency that Clinton cannot afford to lose in order to succeed in Texas, a must win state for her. I was fortunate to attend the Democratic Presidential Debate in Austin last Thursday, and can tell you that both candidates are mounting a full court press to win over Latino voters. NDN has also been talking about the importance of the Latino vote in our report Hispanics Rising, and the need for the GOP to capture 40% of the Latino vote in order to succeed in November. Today, I logged online and read Paul West's article in the Baltimore Sun on the importance of the Latino voters in Texas. It feels good to know that at least some people are paying attention.

On another note, I attended the Clark County Democratic Convention in Las Vegas with my family yesterday. You can read a thorough accounting of it on the Las Vegas Sun site. Needless to say, it was not the most desired outcome, and left a negative spotlight on the Clark County Democratic Party. I can tell you that I was absolutely thrilled to see so many excited and passionate Democrats take over the Bally's Hotel, but knew that there was disaster coming. Then again, having too many Democrats is a good problem to have. This may look bad for Nevada in the short term, but having that kind of enthusiasm among Democrats in Nevada is rare and bodes well for Democrats in November. The county convention will most likely be rescheduled for late March, and I will keep you posted on any developments.