Democrats Attract Latino Voters with First Debate Conducted in Spanish

Tonight Univision hosted a Democratic Presidential Debate in Coral Gables, Florida. This debate was historic due to its status as the first presidential debate in history to be conducted in Spanish. Questions were asked in Spanish while the candidates wore earpieces and heard the questions in English. The candidates responded in English which were then translated into Spanish in order to attract an increasing Hispanic population in the United States, especially the growing Cuban population in Florida.

With the increasing number of Spanish speakers in our country, it would be a weak strategy to ignore this constituency. While the Democratic candidates agreed to participate, every Republican candidate, with the exception of John McCain, ignored Univision's invitation to attend the Spanish-language debate on September 16. Though a majority of anti-Castro Cuban Americans mainly residing in Florida identify with the Republican Party, I think it's safe to say that we will start to see this population shift to the left. With the increasing amount of debate on the immigration policy differences between the two political parties, this predicted advantage is large enough to elect a Democrat instead of a Republican in 2008. Univision is the largest Spanish-language network in the United States. Coincidentally or not, the Democratic candidates have been more lenient towards amnesty and have not been as much in favor of ideas such as a fence around the U.S./Mexico border or more stringent requirements to become a permanent resident. It is unclear whether the Republicans are afraid to answer the important questions about immigration directly to Hispanic voters, but the decision to turn down a debate that was targeted toward the nation's largest minority cannot be jusifited. The Democrats' decision to participate in the Spanish-language debate represents the exponentially growing influence of Hispanic voters and their ability to truly make the 2008 elections historic.