The spectacular rise in Latino political power is nowhere more evident to Democrats and Republicans than in California. There are now more than 2 million Latino voters in the state. With no sign of an ebb in immigration, and as more Latinos become citizens and attain voting eligibility, the number could surpass 3 million by the 2004 election. They will then make up about 40 percent of California voters, and more than one-third of voters in Los Angeles County, the nation's biggest.
With much fanfare, the Republican National Committee earlier this year announced that it would dump millions into ad and voter registration campaigns to attract more Latino voters. Congressional Republicans are taking a cue from President Bush and are taking crash courses in Spanish.
Still, Democrats have an edge over Republicans among Latinos. Most Latinos are Democrats, and so are most of the candidates they vote for. The Democratic National Committee will exhort Latino voters to punch the Democratic ticket in 2004.
Bush and Al Gore battled hard in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Illinois, and those states will be hotly contested again in 2004. If Republicans can induce a substantial number of Latinos in those states to defect from the Democratic Party, this could provide the margin for a Bush victory. At least that's what Republicans hope.
The rush by Republicans and Democrats to court Latino voters has touched off jitters among some black politicians and leaders. They murmur loud that so far, the seven white male Democratic presidential contenders have been stone silent on miserably failing inner-city schools, soaring black unemployment, prison incarceration, and the HIV/AIDS crisis that has torn apart black communities.
