With Hispanics now 15.1% of the US population, "voting booths are being watched closely this year for Hispanic turnout." Some Hispanic advocacy groups predict about 10M Hispanics "will show up at the polls, motivated by the usual concerns about the economy, health care and the war and an added catalyst of dismay over attitudes from anti-immigration movements." Hispanics "are a significant part of the electorate" in NV, NM, FL and CO. National Council of La Raza's Clarissa Martinez: "Look at the primary turnout, Latinos are demonstrating they are engaged in numbers we haven't seen before." Raben Group lobbyist Larry Gonzalez on Latinos' growing influence: "It bears repeating, the future of Americans is going to depend on the future of the success of Latinos" (Gamboa, AP, 5/1).
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