By Joseph Hadfield
Utah''s growing Hispanic community is transforming the way Democrats and Republicans approach elections, with both parties courting voters from the country''s fastest growing ethnic group.
Although Hispanics traditionally identify with the Democratic Party, the Utah Republican Party is stepping up its outreach this election to the Hispanic community, which now accounts for 10 percent of Utah''s population.
'Both Republicans and Democrats have gone after the Hispanic vote because it is critical,' said James Yapias, chairman of the Utah Hispanic Democratic Caucus. 'The Hispanic community can either make or break an election nowadays.'
The latest census showed that Utah''s Hispanic population has doubled since 1990. Hispanic community leaders see this rapid growth and the competition between the parties as an opportunity to strengthen their voice in Utah government.
Twelve Hispanic candidates filed as Democrats for local and state offices this year, the most in Utah''s history, Yapias said. In addition, the democratic caucus sent 85 delegates this year to the party''s state convention.
'We have individuals who are committing themselves to public service and political office,' Yapias said.
The Republican campaign to recruit Hispanic voters is marked by the addition this year of the Utah Hispanic Republican Assembly, which was created in January.
The new caucus is also seeing some success this year, sending 25 Hispanic delegates to the Republican convention.
'That''s somewhat of an accomplishment since we had only been going six weeks,' said Marcos Diaz, chairman of the caucus.
For Diaz, one of the biggest challenges is changing perceptions of the Republican Party.
'A lot of Hispanic values are Republican values,' Diaz said.
A recent national survey by the Pew Hispanic Survey reported that Hispanic loyalty to the Democratic Party is shallow. According to the study, approximately 45 percent of Hispanics side with Democrats compared to 10 percent with Republicans, the survey also reported 4 in 10 Hispanic people feel there is no difference between the major parties.
'At a time of very sharp partisan divisions, they''re not ideologically committed to either of the major parties,' said Roberto Suro, director of the Pew Hispanic Center.
Both parties see this ambivalence as a sign to make more room for Hispanic voters under their party umbrella.
'Under the leadership of President Bush, the party has changed the way it reaches out to Hispanics,' Diaz said. 'Until we actually do things to improve their livelihood, that is a harder sell.'
Yapias said he is most hopeful about Nisa Sisnero''s race for Senate District 1, which covers the west side of Salt Lake City. If Sisneros wins, she will be the only Hispanic state legislator.
But Yapias is already looking beyond the Nov. 5 election to future campaigns.
'Our goal is to run people at city, state and federal level,' Yapias said. 'We are going to make history so that everybody understands and they begin to understand the issues of our community.'
Meanwhile, Diaz is focusing his efforts on consulting the three Republican congressional candidates. Rob Bishop, John Swallow and Chris Cannon participated in a Spanish radio broadcast on Saturday. While Bishop used an interpreter, both Swallow and Cannon spoke in Spanish, reminiscent of President Bush''s 2000 campaign where he frequently delivered speeches in Spanish.
Despite these changes in the Republican Party, Yapias said Utah Republicans still overlook the needs of Utah Hispanics. He said Republican state legislators split up enclaves of Hispanic voters when they redistricted election boundaries, weakening the Latino electorate.
Diaz said the redistricting made a lot of changes, but splitting up Hispanic voters was not a consideration.
'The party majority will try to redistrict to get an advantage, but they do it along party and not ethnic lines,' Diaz said.
But Yapias and Diaz agree that more Hispanics need to be appointed to state committees and boards, especially in health and education.
'Our biggest concern is education,' Yapias said. 'We have 67 percent of Hispanic community kids dropping out of high school.'
As the Nov. 5 election draws near, the two parties compete not only against each other but also against Hispanic voter apathy.
'Although our population has increased, we are still struggling with voter turnout,' Yapias said. 'They need to understand what the political process is. Our goal is to educate them about how much their vote can impact.'