This week marks the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month. Combine that with the obvious large Latino population of the Yakima Valley…and the fact that I’m Hispanic too, it got me thinking about what kind of role the nation’s Hispanic population will have on the upcoming presidential election, and local elections as well.

Much has been said about the importance of this voting segment. Many experts claim that they will have the ability to swing the election in one direction or the other.

So what does this mean for each candidate?

Although Democratic hopeful Barack Obama lagged far behind his ex-rival Hillary Clinton in Latino support during the primaries, many of them seem to have jumped aboard his bandwagon now that he’s the official candidate for that party. It would seem that the Democrats have regained their stronghold on this voting block for the November elections.

On the Republican side of things, all the success that was attained with Hispanic voters during the last presidential election, when President Bush received nearly 40 percent of the Hispanic vote, seems to have all but disappeared over the past four years.

Immigration debates that went nowhere in Congress in 2006 and ‘07 damaged the GOP brand among Latinos. The latest polls shows only 23 percent of Latinos backing Republican nominee John McCain.

That this dramatic decline appears to be wrapped up in the immigration debate makes the situation an ironic, unfair blow to McCain. His presidential campaign almost went into the ditch before the first primary votes were counted because conservatives abhorred his stand on immigration reform.
 
Unlike some of the more vocal in his party, McCain wanted Congress to pass a comprehensive plan that included giving illegal immigrants a chance to earn citizenship over time.

He since has adjusted his stance to say he wants to secure the border first, but he never has backed away from a comprehensive solution.
Whether he can still sell Hispanic voters on his plan and remind them of the work he did in Congress on many issues that are important to them is still a mystery.

And what about at the local and state levels? Could Hispanics play a key role in the race for County Commissioner between Toppenish businessman Kevin Bouchey and Wapato Mayor Jesse Farias? How about in what most certainly will be another closely-fought race for the governorship of Washington?

Hispanics have contributed many positive things to this country, and over the next month we celebrate the good that they bring. As their numbers grow and more generations are born in this country, so does the number of Hispanic voters. Just how big of an impact they’re ready to make this fall is yet to be seen.