James

Current event #4

topic: Leaders

title: Obama Heads to Nevada, Swing State Where Latino Voters Are Key

author: Elizabeth Llorente

Fox News Latino

published May 11, 2012

4 pages

Nevada is a swing state in this year’s election.  Both parties will be working to get its votes. Barack Obama visits Nevada May 11, 2012, where he will court the Latino vote.  Obama won the Latino vote in 2008, but in this election, the Democrats are concerned that this group of voters may not vote for him because of the state of the economy and the very important issue of immigration reform.  Nevada presently has the second highest number of foreclosed homes, and has the country's highest unemployment rate (currently at 12%).  During this visit, Obama needs to attract labor in Nevada because it is able to encourage the Latino vote.

Obama's approach in Nevada will be to emphasize his current housing policies that make it easier for homeowners to refinance mortgages.  This is important because of Nevada’s slow economic recovery, and the large number of foreclosures.

In contrast to Obama’s efforts, Romney’s campaign has not yet focused much on Latino voters.  One Latina Republican leader mentioned that Romney hasn't decided what his position on immigration is.  She later provided a link to a site giving Romney’s views on the issue.  Romney would like to keep the focus on the weak economy and how Obama’s responsibility for it is keeping Latinos from living the American Dream. A point in Romney’s favor is that there is a small Mormon population in Nevada, which is likely to vote for him.  However, some voters there may not like his solution to the foreclosure problem, which is to simply let the housing market hit bottom.

Obama also wants to show how his health care law will benefit Latinos, but he knows the biggest issue will be immigration.  The President’s visit to the swing state of Nevada now is crucial in his campaign.