New Hispanic Voters in Iowa Push Democrats Into Balancing Act

New Hispanic Voters in Iowa Push Democrats Into Balancing Act
Eric Thayer for The New York Times

Bernard Ortiz says Democratic and Republican presidential contenders think Hispanic voters “are irrelevant to the process.”


By LESLIE WAYNE
Published: October 29, 2007

DES MOINES — At La Favorita, a Mexican grocery store here, there is plenty of food for sale — and also a new brand of politics.

A handwritten sign, hanging over the door, proclaims in Spanish: “Wake up! Register to vote! It is the hour to unite and change our future, the future of our children — and the future of this country!”

And every weekend, at a small table behind the newspapers and a case of cold sodas, a trickle of newly minted citizens are doing just that — not in numbers large enough to constitute a voting bloc, but enough to make politicians take notice.

The effort reflects the growing presence of Hispanics here in Iowa, posing a challenge to Democrats who are eager to court a new interest group but wary of offending conservative white voters concerned about immigrants flowing into their state.

At campaign stops, Democratic candidates are frequently asked, often in hostile tones, what they are going to do about the influx of immigrants, mainly from Mexico and Central America, that are streaming into Iowa and changing the culture, and potentially, the political landscape of this early nominating state.

For Democrats, the situation in Iowa could be a harbinger for other states, as rural America deals with a flow of immigrants that other places, like Florida, New York and California, have already experienced.

“Democratic strategists know that the Latino vote is their future,” said Hector Avalos, a professor and founder of the U.S. Latino Studies program at Iowa State University. “But they are having to handle this with kid gloves. They don’t want to anger native Iowans. But they know that there could potentially be millions of new voters nationwide. Democrats are sort of treading lightly, and trying to appease both sides.”

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http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/29/us/politics/29hispanics.html?ref=politics