The Latino/Hispanic vote is going to be critical for Barack Obama in his bid to win Florida in November, arguably the most important swing state in the nation.
During the recent GOP presidential primary there was lots of coverage of the Hispanic vote in Florida, a demographic that went strongly for Mitt Romney, according to exit polls. That's despite his strident views on immigration, views that caused Newt Gingrich to refer to the former Massachusetts governor as "anti-immigrant."
In a Univision/ABC News/Latino Decisions poll taken last week, President Obama leads Romney in Florida among Latinos, 50-40 percent. Among Latino independents, he leads by a larger margin, 55-30 percent.
The White House is paying attention to Florida Latinos the next few days in Tampa, beginning Friday with what is being called the "White House Hispanic Community Action Summit" at the University of Tampa, and the public is invited — but you must register in advance at http://go.usa.gov/nvM.
This article appears in Feb 2-8, 2012.