Hopefuls Wager on Hispanic Vote
LAS VEGAS—The U.S. Senate race between Nevada's Democratic Sen. Harry Reid and Republican Sharron Angle, one of the fiercest battles in the country, could hinge on the candidates' opposing bets on the Hispanic vote.
Mr. Reid this week kicked off the final stretch of his campaign amid heaping plates of tamales, rice and beans at Dona Maria's Tamale Restaurant. Taking the podium, Mr. Reid said, "I'm home." He tried six months ago to push an overhaul of immigration law, a top Hispanic issue, and although the legislation failed, Mr. Reid is hoping to get points for trying.
"Some political people would tell you it's not smart politics to raise that issue," said Sig Rogich, a political adviser to Mr. Reid. "But we've already pissed off the conservative base anyway. We need to energize the people who have a conviction and this is one of those things."
Ms. Angle, meanwhile, has launched the latest in a series of ads contending that Mr. Reid favors illegal immigrants over lawful residents. The latest began airing Tuesday and features shots of thuggish-looking Latinos, an apparent appeal to anti-immigration conservatives. An earlier Angle ad called Mr. Reid "the best friend an illegal alien ever had." Mr. Reid's campaign denounced that spot as "fear mongering."
In short, the contest could turn on Mr. Reid's ability to rouse Hispanics to vote, and Ms. Angle's apparent bet that they won't come out in force.
What happens in Nevada could help determine who controls the U.S. Senate next year. The race has attracted national attention in part because Republicans sense the opportunity to knock off Mr. Reid, the Senate majority leader. Polls show the race closely matched, with few undecided voters remaining.
The crescendo of immigration talk in Nevada mirrors tight races elsewhere as the campaign for Nov. 2 elections enters the home stretch, with immigration debates raging in California and Arizona. A Pew Hispanic Center poll released Tuesday showed that nationwide Hispanic voters overwhelmingly favor Democratic candidates but are much less motivated to vote this year than the rest of the population.
Hispanics have become an increasing force at the ballot box for Democrats in Nevada, comprising 15% of the voting electorate in 2008, a high-water mark. President Barack Obama picked up 76% of the national Hispanic vote. The Reid campaign needs to expand the Hispanic percentage of the electorate to more than 15% in order to win, said Mr. Rogich, the Reid adviser.
D. Taylor, secretary-treasurer of the Culinary Workers Local Union 226, which represents thousands of Hispanic workers, said his members were more focused on staying afloat in Nevada's struggling economy, one of the country's weakest.
"It's not a perceived enthusiasm gap" between Democrats and Republicans, Mr. Taylor said. "I think that's real."
At Mr. Reid's campaign event, Hispanic business and political leaders sat at a long table. Fernando Romero, president of the Hispanics in Politics, an arm of the Latin Chamber of Commerce, which organized the event, said he sensed wariness from some voters given Mr. Reid's unsuccessful attempts to pass immigration legislation. He added, though, that Mr. Reid's efforts should at least help.
"Many of us are novices at the political game and when a promise is made you keep your promise," Mr. Romero said. He later offered an enthusiastic endorsement of Mr. Reid from the podium.
After pushing for a broad immigration overhaul this year, Mr. Reid later downgraded that effort to the more modest but still controversial DREAM Act, which would allow foreign born, U.S.-raised youth to achieve citizenship through college or military service. The bill fell to a Republican filibuster.
Mr. Reid reminded Hispanics gathered at Dona Maria's he had tried. "I have fought for comprehensive immigration reform as a person who puts legislation on the floor for two congresses," Mr. Reid said.
Across town, Mireya Solis, 27 years old, who works in financial services in Las Vegas, said she was not sure whether or not to vote. "Sometimes you're bored about hearing and hearing" and they don't do anything in the end, she said. "They say, we're going to do immigration reform, we're going to vote for him and he's going to vote for us, and in the end everybody gets discouraged."
The sensitivity of the issue in the state was highlighted in an August Las Vegas Review-Journal poll, which found 83% of Hispanic voters in favor of immigration legislation that would allow all illegal immigrants to be given the opportunity to stay and apply for citizenship. Just 36% of all Nevada voters were in favor.
That's where Ms. Angle is seeking an advantage. Her latest ad shows three people on a dark night looking for a way around a tall chain link fence and contrasts images of Hispanic men with Caucasian college students and construction workers.
The narrator says Mr. Reid tried to give "preferred college tuition rates" to illegal immigrants and asks, "What does Harry Reid have against you?" The DREAM Act would allow states to offer illegal immigrants the same tuition rates as legal residents.
The Angle campaign didn't return calls seeking comment. Angle supporter Danny Tarkanian, who ran against Ms. Angle in the Republican primary, said Ms. Angle is likely trying to tap into a "hot-button issue" in Nevada.
Chuck Muth, a conservative activist in Nevada who is working to oppose Mr. Reid, said Ms. Angle is likely making a calculated risk that Hispanics are unlikely to be a factor. "If they show up they could swing the election," Mr. Muth said. "But will they actually show up at the ballot?"