McCain struggling with Hispanics

Recently, NDN released our Hispanics Rising II report that shows the incredible gains that Democrats have made among Hispanic voters and the troubles for the GOP in the upcoming election. Folks over at the RNC dismissed our findings as partisan, even though we were citing independent data from exit polls and the U.S. Census Bureau. I guess when the truth hurts that bad, the only thing you can do is go into denial.

If you look at the trends that have occurred over the past few election cycles, the GOP has failed to adopt a 21st century agenda for America. The failed administration of George Bush has done nothing to benefit Hispanics, and Senator McCain wants to continue this failed administration's road to ruin. His policy toward Cuba continues to punish Cuban families who live in the United States and long to see their relatives. His policy on the economy will continue to leave millions of Hispanic families struggling to survive. Senator McCain wants to continue the course in Iraq despite Hispanics being heavily against this position. He has changed course on comprehensive immigration reform and abandoned Hispanic immigrants in their time of need. He is opposed to universal health care for all Americans, at a time when Hispanics are struggling more than most to afford medical care.

The record is very clear: Senator McCain does not represent the values of Hispanic voters and the numbers confirm it. Today, Gallup released its latest tracking poll, which shows that Obama is increasing his support among Hispanic voters, while McCain is weak among this critical community.

I am sure that the GOP will just dismiss this as another partisan attack on Senator McCain because they can't defend the fact that they have a flawed candidate with a flawed record for Hispanics. But the numbers speak for themselves, and you bet that right about now, the GOP is thinking, "We may have a Latino problem."

For those tracking this, remember that Hispanics in 2004 broke 59-40 for Kerry-Bush and in 2006 broke 70-30 for Democrat-Republican. So the narrative that Obama is weak and McCain is strong among Latinos is simply refuted by the Gallup numbers above. Also, it is clear that McCain has been unable to differentiate and/or distinguish himself from the Latino community's negative view of the GOP. If these trends continue, this will make the five heavily Hispanic states of Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Florida much more Democratic - a shift that, alone, could give Barack Obama the presidency.