WP: Crucial Florida Vote May Hinge On Burgeoning Latino Population

[kskiska]

Saturday, October 16, 2004; Page A01

The state that decided the 2000 election remains as deeply divided over the choice for president today as it was four years ago, with President Bush and Sen. John F. Kerry deadlocked in Florida amid signs of extraordinary intensity and partisanship among voters, according to a new survey by The Washington Post, Univision and the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute.

With less than three weeks before Election Day, Florida and its 27 electoral votes represent the biggest single prize left on an electoral map that has seen the number of truly competitive states shrink to a dozen or fewer.

The new poll shows that Florida may be headed toward another photo finish. Among likely voters, Bush and Kerry each received 48 percent of the vote in a hypothetical ballot test -- mirroring the race nationally. Independent Ralph Nader, whose votes probably cost Al Gore the state, pulled 1 percent, slightly below his statewide percentage four years ago. Bush and Kerry were also tied among registered votes, at 47 percent each, with Nader at 1 percent.

In one of the most important subplots in Florida, the Massachusetts senator is battling to make inroads against the president with the state's increasingly diverse Hispanic population. A separate poll conducted by The Post, Univision and the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI) shows Bush holding a significant lead among Hispanic voters in Florida.



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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36823-2004Oct15.html