Yesterday I was happy to participate in a panel discussion about broadband at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) annual conference in San Antonio. NALEO members recognize that broadband Internet is one of the tools necessary to help their communities thrive in today’s economy. In fact, I think that any conference focused on building stronger communities should include a discussion of broadband – it’s a critical ingredient for job creation, economic growth, and improving education, health care, and public safety.

I talked about challenges and opportunities. NTIA’s data show that although 90-95 percent of Americans live in areas with access to broadband, only 68 percent of households subscribe to the service. In fact, more than 28 percent of Americans do not use the Internet in any location, which means they are cut off from countless educational and job opportunities.

The issue is even greater for Latinos. While the Internet subscribership rate for Hispanics increased by five percentage points last year, it is still only 45 percent. Even after adjusting for socioeconomic factors like income and education, Latinos still significantly lag the national rate in broadband adoption.

Our research shows that those who lack broadband at home most commonly cite lack of interest or need as the primary reason. Interestingly, while those are certainly factors for Hispanic non-adopters, they most often cite affordability as the primary reason. So there is no single solution to bridging the digital divide.

But the good news is that NTIA, and others in the Obama administration, are working on many fronts to expand broadband access and adoption, including efforts targeted to Hispanics and other communities where broadband is underutilized, such as rural Americans, seniors, people with disabilities, and other minorities.

For example, NTIA’s broadband grants program – a $4 billion Recovery Act investment in high-speed Internet infrastructure, public computer centers, and broadband adoption initiatives – is bringing more Latinos online and providing training in the skills needed for today’s jobs.  I also asked attendees to help us build awareness of www.DigitalLiteracy.gov, a website we launched recently to increase computer and Internet skills in America. The site contains a range of tools for teaching and learning digital literacy, and it provides a central location for practitioners to share materials and best practices. Anyone can suggest additional resources for the website, and I encouraged more content targeted to the Hispanic community.

I appreciate NALEO’s focus on broadband. To everyone working on empowering Latino communities: let’s keep this momentum going!

Guest blog (republished) by Ms. Anna M. Gomez Deputy Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information and Deputy Administrator, National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) U.S. Department of Commerce. The posting originally appeared on whitehouse.gov.

The number of Latino voters is projected to increase by 26 percent to a total of 12.2 million voters in 2012, according to a report by the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund.

This translates into 8.7 percent of the country’s total voting population for the 2012 election. The NALEO report was released during the group’s annual conference held this past weekend in San Antonio.

“Latinos continue to reshape the nation’s political map, and the Latino electorate will play a decisive role in Election 2012,” Arturo Vargas, executive director of the NALEO Educational Fund, said.

The report indicates substantial growth in voter participation in the upcoming election and highlights issues that will influence the participation of Latino voters such as the economy, health care, immigration and education.

Latino voter turnout is expected to rise above 30 percent in California, Florida and Illinois in comparison to 2008.  One in every five voters in California, New Mexico and Texas will be Latino, according to the report.

Between 2004 and 2008, the growing force of young Latino voters increased from 33 percent to 39 percent, which indicates that Latino youth ages 18 to 24 are expected to have a significant impact on the upcoming election.

“Both presidential candidates and political parties must actively work to engage Latino voters and address the issues they care about,” Vargas said.

Although the data shows growth in the number of Latino voters, only half of the 19.5 million eligible Latino voters cast their ballot in 2008, either because they didn’t register or because they didn’t go to the polls.

“While the Latino vote continues to increase with each Presidential election, much work needs to be done to fully engage Latinos in our country’s electoral process,” Vargas added.

Latino Fox News

Newly drawn maps for congressional districts in California are being criticized for not adequately representing Latinos, with one prominent Latino leader calling them the “worse-case scenario for Latinos in California.”

Just a little over a week ago, the Citizens Redistricting Commission, a 14-member panel of citizens appointed by the state and charged with redrawing voting districts, released its proposed maps to the denigration of many Latinos, which claim the maps will hurt them as a voting bloc.

“These maps in no way reflect the population shifts of the past 10 years that were documented by the 2010 census,” Arturo Vargas, Executive Director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, said. “Latinos accounted for 90% of the state’s population increase. When you look at the combined number of districts statewide that would be effective Latino districts, we actually end up with less than what we have now.”

The U.S. Census showed that Latinos accounted for the bulk of California’s population growth over the last decade, up to 90 percent, but under the proposed plan only seven out of the 53 congressional districts can be considered “opportunity districts” for Latinos.

Saying that the maps have “thrown communities of interest out the window,” Vargas also cited one district where Latino voters may be pitted against African American voters.

“Were going to have to mobilize the community,” he said. “I think this is going to create a full employment program for voting rights lawyers because of what they have done here to disenfranchise Latino communities in L.A.”

LA Times

New America Media

Last week, the state of Georgia became the latest to follow in Arizona’s footsteps when it passed an immigration law targeting undocumented workers.

House Bill 87 or the Georgia Illegal Immigration Reform and Enforcement Act, would allow police officers to question the immigration status of anyone they detain and requires employers to verify the eligibility of newly hired workers through the E-Verify database.

The House and Senate chambers passed the bill in the final hours of the state’s legislative session.  Georgia Governor Nathan Deal has yet to signal whether he will sign it or not, but as a Congress member he previously supported the E-Verify program.

“This law threatens the safety and security of all Georgians by diverting already limited resources away from law enforcement’s primary responsibility to provide protection and promote public safety in the community,” said Azadeh Shahshahani, project director of the ACLU of Georgia National Security/Immigrants’ Rights. “This ill-conceived law sends a clear message to communities that the authorities are not to be trusted, making them less likely to come forward as survivors of or witnesses to crime.”

Proponents of the law say it is different from Arizona’s because it does not require police officers to question the immigration status of a suspect, it only “authorizes”  them to do so and only if that person is suspected of a serious crime.  For example, a person detained for a broken taillight would not make the cut for an immigration check.

Utah also passed a harsh immigration law earlier this year that forces law enforcement officials to check the legal status of anyone they suspect of a serious crime.  Another part of that law calls for a guest worker program that would grant laborers from the Mexican border state of Nuevo Leon two-year working permits. Arizona came under fire over SB 1070 by Latino civil rights groups and is now facing a federal lawsuit.  A federal judge blocked the most controversial part of the law from going into effect, an injunction that was recently upheld by an appeals court.

Critics say the Georgia law will face a similar fate and that it promotes racial profiling of Hispanics.

“Georgia’s HB 87 is an unconstitutional and costly measure that will jeopardize the public safety of all Georgians, violate their civil rights and subject Georgia’s Latinos and newcomers to discrimination,” the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund, a leading Latino non-profit organization, said in a statement.

The bill will automatically become law in 40 days if the Governor does not sign or veto it.

“The bill contains several unconstitutional provisions that attempt to supersede federal immigration laws and will likely result in expensive litigation for Georgia, as it has in Arizona with the terribly flawed SB 1070 measure,” the group added.

The Epoch Times

Hispanically Speaking News

Reuters

Using data from the 1996 – 2008 Current Population Survey, Voting and Registration supplement, and 2010 Census data where available, we have projected the Latino eligible voter population, by state for November 2012. Given the trends in growth rates over the previous decade, and new data from 2010, we project linear estimates for each state in 2012. By the 2012 election, Latinos will account for over 10% of the citizen adult population – potential voters – in 11 states. In another 13 states, Latino account for 5-10% of the citizen adult population. All told, that’s 24 states where Latinos have the capacity to influence electoral outcomes, given a competitive statewide election. In the table below, we outline the potential states where Latinos votes might matter in elections for U.S. Senate and President in 2012. For each state, we list the percentage of the total citizen adult eligible population that is Latino, as well as an estimate of how many eligible Latinos are not yet registered to vote. States are sorted by where Latinos are likely to have the most influence in 2012.

[ Click Here to see table above sorted by % Latino in state, largest-to-smallest ]

[ Click here for table of estimated % Latino among REGISTERED VOTERS in 2012 ]

In 2012, Latino voters have the best chance to influence outcomes in 10 states for either Senate, President, or both. Four of the top five states will be “Latino influence states” on everyone’s map – New Mexico, Florida, Nevada, Colorado all have large and growing Latino electorates in otherwise politically competitive states. In addition to close presidential contests, New Mexico, Florida and Nevada will likely see very competitive Senate elections. Another state we include, Arizona, has a large Latino population, and depending on who the nominees are for U.S. Senate, could have a fairly competitive election with Latino voters proving decisive. In 2010, Latinos registered voters in Arizona demonstrated the highest turnout rate of Latinos in any state.

The next batch of states that Latinos may influence are ones that historically are not obvious Latino states, but significant population growth over the last decade has left a substantial Latino eligible voter population. In Connecticut, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Massachusetts, Latinos account for over 5% of potential voters, and each state is expected have a competitive U.S. Senate or Presidential contest in 2012. For example, in Georgia, the Latino population grew by 96% since 2000 while the White population grew by 6%; a state McCain won by just 5% (52-47) in 2008. In Wisconsin Latinos grew by 74% compared to 1% growth for Whites, and could be one of the most fiercely contested states in 2012.

Beyond these 10 states, there are others where Latinos will matter if elections are close, as expected in Nebraska, Virginia, Indiana, Missouri and Ohio. While the Latino population is a smaller percentage, the number of Latino citizen adults is growing rapidly, and with voter registration drives targeting potential Latino voters, we could very well be talking about the next “Latino upset” ala Reid vs. Angle in one of these five states. In Missouri the Latino population grew by 79% – 20 times faster than the White population (which grew by 4%), in a state that McCain won by just 4,000 total votes in 2008. One of the biggest keys to Latino influence in 2012 will not just be the population growth which has already occurred, but rather, voter registration drives that still need to occur.

Over 8 million more to be registered
Overall, we estimate 21.5 million Latino citizen adults will be eligible to vote in November 2012, up from 19.5 million in 2008. If registration rates remain constant, that will leave over 8 million Latino eligible voters who are not registered in 2012. With significant voter registration drives the Latino vote can go from influential to essential. In addition to the current Latino share of the citizen adult population in each state in the table above, we’ve also listed the estimated number of Latinos eligible to vote who are not registered, given growth rates. For example, while Latinos are growing in influence in Arizona, there are over 400,000 Latinos eligible to vote who are not yet registered. In Florida it’s even more – over 600,000 Latinos could be added to the voter rolls. Newly naturalized citizens and young Latinos turning 18 are adding literally a half-million of new potential voters each year.

Over the past decade, and well before, Latino civic and political organizations have led the charge in registering voters, as political parties rarely ventured into el barrio for campaign outreach. Groups such as NALEO, NCLR, Southwest Voter have invested millions of dollars and millions of hours into Latino voter registration and civic education drives. Today, many new and influential groups have emerged and done considerable work in Latino voter registration and mobilization including Mi Familia Vota, Democracia USA, The Hispanic Institute, and Voto Latino among many other groups. However, these non-partisan groups operate mostly on soft money contributions and an extensive volunteer network. A significant investment in Latino voter registration is badly overdue by both major political parties. In Texas, for example, there are an estimated 2.1 million Latino eligible voters who are not yet registered, who could be crucial to either party’s desire to win and hold statewide office in Texas in coming years. In California there are another 2 million eligible Latinos to be registered. There are 300,000 unregistered Latinos who could be voters in Illinois where a U.S. Senate election was decided by less than 60,000 votes in 2010.

As pundits look towards 2012, Latino voters are positioned to cast crucial votes in many states. Beyond looking at just the likely 4/4 voters, or perhaps the pool of registered voters, campaigns and candidates would be wise to look at the growing pool of Latino eligible voters and invest now in bringing more Latinos into the political system – an investment that will pay off for decades to come.

Dr. Matt Barreto is an associate professor of political science at the University of Washington, and director of the Washington Institute for the Study of Ethnicity and Race (WISER). He is also the co-Director of the Washington Poll, a statewide opinion survey conducted by Pacific Market Research. He received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Irvine. His research examines the political participation of racial and ethnic minorities in the United States and his work has been published in the American Political Science Review, Political Research Quarterly, Public Opinion Quarterly, Urban Affairs Review, and other peer reviewed journals.

Barreto specializes in Latino and immigrant voting behavior, and teaches courses on Racial and Ethnic Politics, Latino Politics, and Voting and Elections at UW. He is also an affiliated faculty member in the Center for Statistics and the Social Sciences (CSSS) at the University of Washington, and is an affiliated research scholar with the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute and with the Center for the Study of Los Angeles. In 2004, Barreto was a co-author of the TRPI/Washington Post National Survey of Latino voters, and in 2006 he was a principal advisor and survey consultant to the Latino Policy Coalition which conducted four nationwide surveys of Latino voters during the midterm elections.  In 2008, Barreto and Segura were the co-principal investigators of the American National Election Study (ANES) Latino oversample, which extended the 60 year old ANES study to Latinos, and for the first time offered the survey in Spanish.

He can be reached at: matt.barreto@latinodecisions.com

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of its author and do not necessarily reflect those of Latinovations or the Dewey Square Group.

In fact, by the time the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620, Ponce de León  had already arrived in Florida in 1513, more than a century earlier. So deeply engrained in American history is Hispanic culture, many non-Hispanics hardly notice it, and even some Hispanics – including many who are seen to be leaders – also fail to appreciate it.

And yet in communities around the United States, Hispanics find themselves targeted by the bigotry and xenophobia that swirl around the issues of immigration and the treatment of undocumented individuals and families.

Although non-Hispanics – at least those who aren’t willfully, arrogantly ignorant of Latino contributions to the American experience – might be excused, there is no justification for the lack of urgency on the issue among Hispanics who claim the mantle of leadership. The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials counts more than 6,000 Hispanic-American officeholders, and their voices raised together would make a powerful sound.

Now, more than ever, when immigrants’ rights are under assault in jurisdictions around the country, and when local, state and federal legislators are failing to show courage against transparently anti-immigrant bills, Hispanic leaders have a special obligation to speak up.

The sad fact, however, is that many do not. They prefer, it seems, to focus on broader issues of the military, education, the arts, the economy and others, while distancing themselves from the plight of undocumented immigrants and their human rights.

The broader issues are unquestionably important, and Hispanics will benefit from progress in those areas, but the leaders’ voices are also urgently needed to confront the erroneous narrative that immigrants, especially the undocumented, are a drain on the economy, that they break the law and that they resist opportunities to assimilate.

The tactic isn’t new. The archives of newspapers from the 1920s are filled with similar stories – not about Hispanics, but about Italians, Germans, Eastern European Jews and others who came to America to make better lives. Those groups overcame the prejudices of the day, often with help from leaders from their respective ethnic groups, and so will Hispanics. But, it won’t happen as quickly or as effectively for Hispanics without support from the Latino leadership.

Hispanic members of Congress, state legislators, mayors and other elected officials must lead the way, and they must be joined by the leaders of national Hispanic organizations. They must not stand by as undocumented immigrants’ families are damaged or destroyed by misguided enforcement programs and politically motivated legislation.

To be sure, some Hispanic politicians have mouthed the right words when interviewed by the news media about immigration issues, but delivering sound bites on cue hardly qualifies as deliberate, planned and sustained leadership for change.

Those of us at The Hispanic Institute and others who work with issues of importance to the Hispanic community every day have concluded that more is needed. When we look out 50 years from now, we wonder how the Hispanic leaders of this time will be remembered: as dedicated, courageous leaders who fought for their community, or as ineffectual bystanders who watched these injustices unfold?

Politicians cannot expect to continue to enjoy the support of Hispanic voters while our economy flounders and Hispanic immigrant families are torn apart. Hispanic leaders must understand that patience is not an infinite resource and that action must replace promises if goodwill is not soon to be exhausted. Hispanics cannot, and must not, hitch their wagons to horses that cannot pull them.

Gus West is board chair of The Hispanic Institute.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of its author and do not necessarily reflect those of Latinovations or the Dewey Square Group.

The first set of data from the 2010 Census released yesterday showed that states in the Southwest, home to the majority of Hispanics in the country, experienced some of the highest population growth and gained congressional seats.

The total population in the US as of April 1, 2010, is 308,745,538.  The rate of growth in the Southwest outpaced the rest of the nation, which in total grew by 9.7 percent since the last Census count in 2000.

Even though the first set of data did not include numbers on race or ethnicity, it did conclude what many demographic experts have been saying all along, that these states with high numbers of Hispanics would be the scene of the largest growth in population.

Nevada alone saw a 35 percent population increase, which was the highest for any state.  This is significant since Latinos played a pivotal role in keeping Democratic Sen. Harry Reid in office.

The fact that Texas gained 4 congressional seats, the most for any state, has been deemed a favorable turn of events for the GOP in the already dominantly red state.  The state saw a population growth of 21 percent in total.

Florida was the runner up for most congressional seats gained, with two and a growth in its population by 18 percent.

Arizona, plagued by bad publicity stemming from its anti-immigrant law SB 1070, experienced 9.1 percent growth and gained one seat.

“The results from the U.S. Census confirm that the states with a heavy Hispanic population are the ‘winners’ in terms of the number of house seats gained,” said Joe Kutchera, an expert on demographic trends and author of “Latino Link: Building Brands Online with Hispanic Communities and Content.” “The growth in the U.S. is centered in the South and Southwest, regions that are heavily Hispanic.”

He also added, “And the five most populous states [are] geographic areas that point to the growth of the U.S. coming from the Hispanic population.”

Rosalind Gold, senior director of policy, research and advocacy for the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials says that the more data that is released, early next year, will paint a broader picture of Hispanic population trends since 2000.

“Immigration is just one part of the story of the Hispanic population,” said Rosalind Gold, senior director of policy, research and advocacy for the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, or NALEO. “We have to see what the 2010 Census shows about their total population, what states they are moving to.”

Fox News

A request by the Arizona Latino Republican Association to intervene with the Department of Justice’s lawsuit against SB 1070 was denied Tuesday by a federal judge.

U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton, who put the law’s most controversial portions on hold just a day before it was to be enacted, rejected the group’s arguments that its members  may not be adequately represented by those defending the law.

As previously reported in La Plaza, ALRA became the first Latino group to formally throw their support behind Arizona’s anti-immigrant law.

“I’m challenging the Obama administration first and foremost as a state.  When the government fails to do their job, the state has the right to protect its boundaries and its citizens. It’s shameful that the Obama administration is wasting all these resources attacking legislation that is following standard immigration law,” Jesse Hernandez, chairman of ALRA and himself a son of immigrants, said.

Bolton ruled that the group didn’t show inadequate representation by Brewer’s lawyers.

The group also drew the ire of other Latino groups critical of the law.

National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO) Executive director Arturo Vargas said he was not surprised, “They represent the minute minority of the individuals in the Latino community. Poll after poll, survey after survey of the Latino population shows near unanimity in opposition of the law.”

KVOA

La Plaza

Nevada

“Did Hispanics save Harry Reid?” is the question asked by Newsweek magazine, and without exception, analysts and pundits answer, “yes”.  An aggressive and focused ground plan targeted Latinos in the most-watched election in the country.  The Hispanic vote increased to 15% of the Nevada voters up 3 points from the last mid-term election and supported Reid by a whopping 90% to 8% for Tea Party favorite, Sharon Angle.  As predicted, Republican Hispanic, Brian Sandoval, defeated Rory Reid for the governorship.

California

In the nation’s most populous state, Latino voters came through and widened the margins of victory for Democrats in what were close contests for both governor and senate.  Jerry Brown defeated eBay CEO Meg Whitman by garnering 86% of the Latino vote in an election that saw spending by the self-funded Republican break historical records.  Barbara Boxer was also able to fend off a challenge by another Silicon Valley CEO, Carly Fiorina, to return to the US Senate.

A current member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Rep. Jim Costa (CA-20) is facing defeat in a bid for re-election for his Central Valley seat.  The Democrat trails his opponent in a race that remains too close to call currently.  Rep. Loretta Sanchez, who had been the target of a Republican spending wave in hopes of unseating her, was able declare victory in her Orange County district.

Colorado

Sen. Michael Bennett, the incumbent Democrat, went from being an underdog to winning this tight election by one point.  In a state where Latinos were 10% of the vote, they supported Bennett by 81% to 19% for the Republican. 

New Mexico

The state with the largest percentage of its population being Hispanic elected the nation’s first Latina governor, Republican Susana Martinez.   However, according to exit poll tracking of the firm, Latino Decisions, Hispanic voters in this state gave the majority of their support to the Democratic candidate for governor.

 Texas

A true Republican wave swept Texas and unseated two Latino Congressional Democrats, Rep. Ciro Rodriguez and the senior member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Rep. Solomon Ortiz. Rodriguez will be replaced by Republican businessman, Francisco Canseco.

Linda Chavez-Thompson, a national labor, was unsuccessful in her bid to become the state’s Lt. Governor.  

Florida

Republican Marco Rubio will become one of two Cuban Americans and only Hispanics in the US Senate.  (Democrat Robert Menendez of New Jersey is the other.)   Coasting to an easy victory over both a Democratic and Independent challenger, Rubio’s name is already being floated as a VP candidate for 2012.

During his primary election fight, Rubio swung to the right to gain the support of Tea Party voters and even switched his position to express support for Arizona’s controversial immigration measure, SB 1070.  In a state with a conservative Latino electorate, Rubio did win the far majority of the Latino vote.

Riding the coattails of Rubio’s victory, Republican David Rivera defeated former Obama Administration official, Joe Garcia, for Florida’s 25^th Congressional District seat.

Arizona

Finally, in a state that has been at the center of so much national debate, the Republican Party of Arizona enjoyed some easy victories re-electing Sen. John McCain and Gov. Jan Brewer.  While Latino voters supported Democrats by large numbers, the percentage of Republican voters was too great to overcome.

While Rep. Raul Grijalva declared victory in his re-election bid, the race has still not been called nearly two days after the election.  Grijalva, who had been an early outspoken critic of SB 1070 and supported a boycott of the state, faced an unusually strong and very well funded Tea Party opponent.  In this Democratic district, he maintains a very slim lead as votes continue to be counted.

Republican Victories

According to the National Association of Latino Elected Officials, a “record number” of Republican Latinos were elected to Congress on Tuesday.  They include:

Marco Rubio, US Senate, Florida 

Raúl Labrador, Idaho’s 1^st  Congressional District

David Rivera, Florida’s 25^th Congressional District

Bill Flores, Texas’ 17^th Congressional District

Francisco Canseco, Texas’ 23^rd Congressional District

Jaime Herrera, Washington’s 3^rd Congressional District

As noted by NALEO, some of these candidates won in districts that had a very small Hispanic population.

 http://www.newsweek.com/blogs/the-gaggle/2010/11/03/did-hispanics-save-harry-reid.html

http://en.terra.com/latin-in-america/news/california_jerry_brown_won_thanks_to_hispanic_support/

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-congress-legis-20101104,0,1702806.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed2Fnews28L.A.+Times+-+California+29

http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/03/did-polls-underestimate-democrats-latino-vote/?partner=rss&emc=rss

http://latinodecisions.wordpress.com/recent-polls/new-mexico-2010-results/

http://www.thestatecolumn.com/blog/2010/11/arizona-election-results-grijalva-giffords-look-for-votes/

For the past several months La Plaza has been closely following the developments and attention surrounding the Latino vote in what will go down in history as the most expensive midterm elections to date.  We have covered everything from the earnest efforts of several civic groups to turn out this voting bloc on Election Day to the various polls and reports attempting to analyze these voters to the “Don’t Vote” ad by the conservative Latinos for Reform group. 

Never before have Latinos stood to play such a large role in the outcome of several key elections in battleground states.  One report by the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) estimated that up to one million more Latinos will cast their ballots in tomorrow’s midterm elections than did in the 2006 midterm elections.  It is yet to be seen if Latino voters will actually turn out to the polls tomorrow, but if they do, this group may very well decide which way the balance of power will swing to in both chambers of Congress. 

And while another poll revealed that Latinos favor the Democratic party overall, ironically, it now seems that it is the Republican party that will shine the brightest tomorrow when it comes to Hispanic elected officials.  It is expected that several GOP Hispanic candidates will carry the day in several statewide elections across the nation, while a few Hispanic Democrats are fighting to keep their congressional seats in hotly contested races. 

 Nevada

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is fighting off a challenge from Republican Sharron Angle, who has not won any favor with Hispanics after airing an ad heavily criticized by several Latino groups, including the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) who called it “anti-Hispanic.” Republican Brian Sandoval, a former federal judge, is likely to make history tomorrow as the state’s first Hispanic governor.

California

California has one of the largest number of Latino voters in the country, thus former eBay CEO Meg Whitman has spent a historical sum of money courting the Latino vote there but Democrat Jerry Brown still leads her in the polls going into tomorrow’s gubernatorial elections due in part to revelations that Whitman knowingly employed an undocumented immigrant as her housekeeper but fired her when she was preparing to run for office.

Incumbent Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer is also locked in a tight battle with Republican opponent Carly Fiorina for her seat.

Colorado

The Hispanic vote may also make the difference in this Senate race where Sen. Michael Bennett, the incumbent Democrat, is in an extremely tight race against Republican and Tea Party-favored Ken Buck and third party candidate Tom Tancredo.

New Mexico

Attorney and Republican Susana Martinez may emerge as the country’s first Latina governor after tomorrow in New Mexico. Martinez is the favorite over Democratic opponent Diane Denish.

Texas

Rep. Ciro Rodriguez and Rep. Solomon Ortiz, both Democrats, are also fighting to stave off challenges from Republican opponents in tight races in a year that has been tough for incumbents. A Rodriguez loss would mean the addition of a Hispanic Republican in Congress.

Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor, Linda Chavez-Thompson, is a national labor leader looking to make history in the state by ousting incumbent Republican David Dewhurst.

Florida

Republican and former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio is expected to come out on top in Florida’s three-way Senate race against Democrat Kendrick Meeks and Independent Charlie Christ. Many already view him as a superstar for the Republican party.

In the Miami area an open congressional seat is giving the Democrats an opportunity to pick up a seat with former Obama administration official, Joe Garcia, who is running against Republican David Rivera.

Arizona

No surprises here for Republican Gov. Jan Brewer who is up for reelection and is expected to easily win this race.

However, Rep. Raul Grijalva, an incumbent Democrat from the Tucson area is facing the political battle of his life as he fights for his congressional seat against Republican Tea Party candidate Ruth McClung, who has attacked Grijalva over his support for a boycott to object to the passage of SB 1070.