Bill Clinton garnered only 61 percent of the Latino vote in 1992, but that figure rose to 72 percent in 1996, a clear indication that most Hispanics regarded the Republicans as anti-Latino. It hasn't always been that way. Back in 1980, Ronald Reagan got 40 percent of the Latino vote nationwide. Part of George W. Bush's appeal to Republican Party operatives is the possibility that he will be able to siphon off from the Democrats that big share of Latino voters Reagan once enjoyed. But we are not talking only percentages here.
Substantial numbers are at stake.
Even as most Americans are increasingly being turned off by electoral politics, Latinos are being turned on. Between 1992 and 1996, the number of votes cast decreased by more than 9 million among non-Hispanic whites and decreased by 15,000 among blacks. But votes increased by a whopping 690,000 among Latinos. The presidential candidates have to work fast because the front-loaded primary schedule means that the big states where most Latinos reside are voting early. On March 7, California, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland and Ohio will be among 11 states holding primaries.