Democrats court Hispanics in LV

Friday, Aug. 9, 2002 | 9:09 a.m.

While munching on beans wrapped in tortillas, national Democratic leaders made sure they got this message out at their summer meeting held Thursday in Las Vegas: They're after Hispanic candidates and votes, and they're going to get them.

They also tipped some of their cards about how they'll do this in Nevada.

The GOP counterattacked with a press release blasting the Dems for favoring their incumbents over Hispanic candidates in some races around the nation.

And in an interview from Washington, RNC Director of Grassroots Development Rudy Fernandez pointed to President Bush's recent approval rating of more than 60 percent in the Hispanic community, saying the DNC has "run into a wall."

So it was that both parties gave one more demonstration that the country's largest minority -- really, a majority in many districts nationwide -- will be fought over tooth-and-nail. And with one of the nation's fastest-growing Hispanic populations, Nevada is on the battlefield.

"Nevada is a template that shows how society will accept the growing Hispanic population," said Dan Chavez, DNC national voter registration director.

He said Dario Herrera's campaign in Congressional District 3 is an example.

"We think he shows what can be achieved with Hispanic candidates in that we're not waiting to run them in majority Hispanic districts," Chavez said.

Herrera's district is less than 10 percent Hispanic.

Still, Herrera's high-profile campaign may be the exception, others said. Nevada's young and recently formed Hispanic population leads the DNC to focus more on grooming candidates from the bottom up, said Steven Ybarra, western regional vice chairman for the Hispanic Democratic Caucus.

"The little stuff is what we're concentrating on, like school boards, state assembly and so on. This is important for people to get experience in going through the political process," he said.

As for the Hispanic vote, Ybarra said his party will take advantage of the ease with which Nevada voters can cast ballots from home.

"The thing is, most Hispanics go to work at 5 a.m. and get back home at night, so they can't find time to go to the polls. In the Hispanic community, you can increase votes by 20 percentage points using this strategy," he said.

Andres Gonzalez, DNC executive director for Hispanic outreach, said the Dems will be spending more than either party ever has on registering Hispanics to vote in Nevada this year. He declined to offer a dollar amount.

He referred to Nevada as "perhaps the only 5-5 state" -- in the top 5 nationwide both for Hispanics of voting age and for population growth.

"This poses a challenge for us, for developing candidates and registering voters," Gonzalez said.

Fernandez, meanwhile, said that the DNC is resting on its laurels with Hispanics. "They have been taking the Latino vote for granted," he said.

The national grass-roots leader for the GOP said that his party may soon boast Nevada's highest-ranking Hispanic elected official, if Brian Sandoval is elected attorney general in November.

"We feel excited about this and it shows our inroads with the Hispanic community," he said.

Which suggests the name of the 30-minute monthly commercial, in Spanish, the GOP began airing in May in six cities around the nation -- including Las Vegas.

It's called "Abriendo Caminos," or "Forging New Paths." The leadership of both parties has begun beating a path to Hispanics in Nevada, especially in the Las Vegas Valley.