Obama needs to secure Hispanic vote before general election

Sen. Barack Obama has all but secured the Democratic nomination, but victory in November's general election hinges, in part, on the Illinois Senator's ability to galvanize the country's substantial Hispanic population.

Before March's Texas Primary, Obama campaigned heavily in the Rio Grande Valley, but won less than 40 percent of the vote in Hidalgo, Starr, Cameron and Willacy counties, all of which have significant Hispanic populations.

Will Obama be able to turn Hispanic voters - in South Texas and elsewhere - around before the Nov. 4 general election?

A new Gallup Poll shows Obama winning 62 percent of Hispanic registered voters nationwide, compared with 29 percent for Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain.

Hispanic voters currently compose about 9 percent of the eligible electorate nationwide, but they make up a significant portion of the electorate in several states, which are expected to be closely contested.

Officials with Texas Democratic Party hope that their state might swing to the Democrats in November. They point to a primary turnout, which broke a 36-year-old record and a substantial number of newly registered Democrats.

But in South Texas, some of Hillary Clinton's Hispanic supporters are unsure if they will vote for Obama in November.

"Really, he's a newcomer," said Berta Garza, an active Clinton supporter. "I still need to learn about him and McCain before I make a decision."

Some South Texas voters are concerned that Obama might not be able to relate to Hispanics.

"My big concern is that he is Muslim, and that Muslims have very different, specific beliefs," said San Juana Vazquez, a naturalized citizen who has been voting for 15 years. While Obama is not a Muslim, it is misconceptions like this that some voters have that could hurt the senator's image with Hispanics.

Vazquez added that despite such concerns she would vote for Obama over any Republican candidate. She called the party "racist and egoistic."

Ed Martin, a Democratic strategist based in Austin, says Hispanics in the Rio Grande Valley will consider a candidate's political platform before they consider race.

"Emphasizing race is a disservice to the people of South Texas," Martin said.

But for Obama, the issue of race could help him gain voters in the region.

"As Hispanics, we should be more accepting of a black president," said Dolores Meier, who has supported Obama for over a year. "We're both minorities, and there are people against both of us...it's all the more reason for people down here to support Obama."

For both senators, the battle for Hispanic voters has already begun.

McCain is currently airing Spanish-language radio advertisements in the Hispanic battlegrounds of New Mexico and Nevada. The Obama campaign recently hired a press spokesman to work fulltime on Spanish-language media.

Part of the struggle for the Hispanic vote will focus on getting people to the polls.

Although Hispanics compose 9 percent of the eligible electorate, they make up only about 6.5 percent of those who actually turn out to vote, according to a study by the Pew Hispanic Center.