Florida: The Hispanic Vote

The recently contested Florida primary provided a first gauge of the large Hispanic vote in this country.

 Several key states including California, Texas, Illinois, and Florida have large populations of Hispanic voters. Both parties would be wise to pay attention to this diverse group of voters because winning the Hispanic vote could mean the difference between moving into the White House and delivering a concession speech.

Capturing the Hispanic vote is far from easy. Party leaders shouldn’t paint any group of people with a broad brush, but this is particularly true of the Hispanic voter.

 The Hispanic voter in Florida may be concerned about future U.S. policy towards Cuba, while Hispanics in California and Texas may be more concerned about illegal immigration or plans to deal with the escalating drug violence in Mexico.

This is not meant to be an exhaustive list, just illustrative of the diverse issues that any population in America faces. How the presidential candidates meet this populations diverse needs will be an interesting aspect of the 2012 campaign.