McCain, GOP Face Hispanic Tipping Point From: realclearpolitics.com

As the largest minority group in the United States, Hispanics are finding their political sea legs in a year in which their votes could, and likely will, swing the presidential election. Both Barack Obama and John McCain have courted perhaps this most diverse group of minorities, and both have obstacles to overcome before claiming an historically significant advantage. McCain, though, is uniquely positioned to outperform his party, and few groups will be so crucial to his campaign’s success or failure.

In the past eight years, Hispanic voters have largely sided with Democrats, though not as much as other minority groups. In 2000, Al Gore won more than 60% of the Hispanic vote, versus roughly 35% of for President Bush. In 2004, Hispanics once again favored the Democrat,John Kerry, over President Bush, though by a slimmer margin of roughly 55 to 40. By 2006, however, after a contentious debate on comprehensive immigration in which the Republican-controlled House hewed to a conservative, enforcement first approach, just 30% of Hispanics voted Republican in Congressional elections, while Democrats raked in 69% of the vote.”*

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