Political

Can Hillary say gracias? She sure should. With her campaign for president looking like it was on the ropes, and every knowledgeable observer in the country – including her husband – saying primary wins in Texas and Ohio were crucial for her to continue, the New York senator banked on Hispanics. By: Jose Cancela

As the Democratic presidential nomination contest heads for a showdown in Texas on March 4, Hispanics have emerged as a potentially pivotal constituency in the battle between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Univision Communications Inc. revealed its plans for comprehensive coverage of the February 21st Democratic debate with Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama. The debate is sponsored by CNN, Univision Communications Inc. and the Texas Democratic Party and presented by the Lyndon B. Johnson Foundation on behalf of the LBJ School of Public Affairs and the LBJ Library in conjunction with the University of Texas.

The Hispanic Federation released the results of its 15th annual survey Hispanic New Yorkers on Nueva York reporting the opinions of Latino New Yorkers on the upcoming presidential primary, New York City’s 2009 democratic primary elections for mayor, immigration reform and other public policy priorities.

An influential group has announced the most aggressive immigration policy public awareness campaign in U.S. history. Mexicans & Americans Thinking Together (MATT.org) with Lionel Sosa as their Executive Director, made the announcement at its second “Immigration Solutions Roundtable” in Las Vegas.

The internet is living up to its potential as a major source for news about the presidential campaign. Nearly a quarter of Americans (24%) say they regularly learn something about the campaign from the internet, almost the double the percentage from a comparable point in the 2004 campaign (13%).

Univision Communications Inc. announced that it has launched “Ve y Vota en las Primarias” (Get Out and Vote in the Primaries), the third phase of a massive non-partisan campaign to educate and engage the country’s Hispanic population in the national electoral process.

Most Americans say they’re gender-blind when it comes to voting in the 2008 presidential election, according to a recent survey commissioned by New York Women in Communications. Yet, when questioned about specifics, more women than men say they view female candidates as better leaders, more trustworthy and stronger on issues like healthcare and education. The survey, which queried over 2000 Americans who plan to vote in the 2008 election, also shows that black and Hispanic voters and those aged 18 to 24 are more likely to support a woman candidate in order to “make history.”

The Tomás Rivera Policy Institute at the University of Southern California projects that 9.3 million Latino voters will go to the polls in the 2008 presidential elections-an increase of over 1.7 million voters or an increase of approximately 23% from 2004.

As the United States gets ready to enter an election year, there are interesting differences in the perceptions of adults in the five largest European countries, especially compared to Americans, as to what the election may mean and how important it is. Two-thirds of Americans (66%) and over half of Italians (55%), Germans (52%) and Spaniards (51%) think the U.S. election is extremely or very important to people in other countries as do a plurality (43%) of British adults. The French, however, disagree, as just over one-third (38%) say the election is extremely or very important to other countries.

Univision Communications Inc. together with the University of Miami, made history with the broadcast of the first ever Republican Presidential Candidate Forum in Spanish. Univision’s Forum provided a landmark opportunity for the Republican candidates to speak directly to the growing Hispanic electorate whose votes will play an important role in the next presidential election.

Political campaign spending on advertising media and marketing services is expected to rocket to an all-time high of $4.50 billion in the 2008 election cycle, as an acrimonious political environment, record fundraising and the high number of presidential candidates are driving an unprecedented media spending splurge.

Talk about a turnaround: Republican presidential contenders who couldn’t be dragged near a Spanish-language debate three short months ago suddenly are tripping all over each other in the mad dash to take part in the debate next Sunday at the University of Miami.

Back in August, the Spanish-language network Univision offered the presidential candidates from both parties a chance to make history. For the first time ever, the network planned to put on nationally televised presidential debates in Spanish.

After spending the first part of this decade loosening their historic ties to the Democratic Party, Hispanic voters have reversed course in the past year, a new nationwide survey of Latinos by the Pew Hispanic Center has found.