Obama Seeks to Make the Sale to Hispanics

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The Wall Street Journal

Obama Seeks to Make the Sale to Hispanics
Despite Ability to Draw Crowds and Donations, Senator Is Still Largely Unknown to Crucial Group
By MIRIAM JORDAN
August 8, 2007; Page A7

MIAMI -- Before 2,000 people at the convention of a powerful Hispanic advocacy group recently, Sen. Barack Obama made a pitch for unity between African Americans and Hispanics. "Our separate struggles are really one," the Illinois Democrat declared, quoting a telegram Martin Luther King Jr. sent in 1968 to farm-worker activist Cesar Chávez.

Mr. Obama compared last year's massive immigration rallies led by Hispanics to the civil-rights marches of African-Americans in the 1960s, and called for the two groups to stay the course in a common fight for equality. To rousing applause at the convention of the National Council of La Raza, he alluded to "one dream" for blacks and Latinos. Later, he cited his Kenyan-born father as an example of an immigrant who came here in pursuit of the American dream. Despite becoming this presidential race's phenomenon, with the power to draw huge crowds and raise millions of dollars, Mr. Obama remains relatively unknown among the country's fastest-growing electorate: Nearly half of Latino voters have never heard of him, according to a June Gallup poll.

Even as he gains awareness among Hispanics, he may find wooing them to his campaign a challenge. Across the U.S., tensions simmer between Hispanics and blacks who regard each other as rivals for jobs, educational resources, housing and political power. In Los Angeles, Hispanics have become the majority in traditionally black enclaves and clashes have erupted between the groups in schools and on the streets. For Mr. Obama, this has created a tricky situation. The fiery debate over immigration in Congress alienated many Hispanics, pushing conservatives among them into the Democratic camp and encouraging others to register to vote. But to tap into that, Mr. Obama must navigate past Democratic primary opponents who are better positioned to capitalize on those voters.

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As the first primary state with a significant Hispanic electorate, Nevada is expected to offer a hint of how Latinos vote in other Hispanic-heavy states such as Arizona and New Mexico. In Las Vegas, Mr. Obama has met on three occasions with Hispanic hotel and casino workers, who make up a large portion of the influential culinary-workers union, as well as with local Hispanic political figures. In a sign of the challenges Mr. Obama faces, a recent independent poll by a group called Latino Decisions says that in Nevada, Mrs. Clinton currently is favored by 55% of Democratic or Democratic-leaning Latinos, while Mr. Richardson has 14% and Mr. Obama 6%. But a new national Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows better results for the Illinois senator. It found Mrs. Clinton is favored by 58% of Hispanics, followed by Messrs. Obama and Edwards with 10% each and Mr. Richardson with 9%.

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Mr. Obama has secured the support of some prominent Latino politicians, such as Illinois Rep. Luis Gutierrez, and California Senate Majority leader Gloria Romero. "He understands civil rights and poverty," says Ms. Romero, who supported Rev. Jesse Jackson when he ran for president. Mrs. Clinton has won endorsements from heavyweights such as L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa, New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez and Dolores Huerta, who co-founded the United Farm Workers of America with Cesar Chávez.


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