Senator Barack Obama’s Presidential campaign together with the Democratic National Committee announced an unprecedented $20 million commitment to engaging and mobilizing Hispanic voters for the November election at a press conference with Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO), Congressman Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), Congresswoman Hilda Solis (D-CA) and Congressman José Serrano (D-NY). The historic announcement comes as a new Pew Hispanic Center survey finds Senator Obama holding a strong lead, 66-23, over his Republican rival John McCain among registered Hispanic voters. Today only 26 percent of Hispanics identify as Republicans while 65 percent say they are Democrats, a 39-point party ID gap. [Pew Hispanic Center, 7/24/08]
Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus joined representatives of the Obama campaign and the DNC for the official announcement, which followed a briefing at Party headquarters on the campaign’s Hispanic outreach program attended by 150 Latino community leaders from around the country.
"Senator Obama is honored to have earned a strong lead among Hispanic voters, but neither he nor the Democratic Party are taking a single vote for granted," said Frank Sanchez, Obama for America National Hispanic Leadership Council Chairman. "We know we have a lot of work to do, and this bold and unprecedented commitment to engaging and empowering Hispanic voters in our political process is an important step toward the November elections."
"This important commitment builds on the work we’ve done in the Democratic Party over the past three years to engage Hispanic voters, and to reject the Republican Party’s politics of division," said DNC Chairman Howard Dean. "Hispanics are often disproportionately affected by the negative consequences of the failed Bush-McCain policies affecting every American. Whether it’s about John McCain’s promise to continue the same Bush economic policies that have led to a decline in median income for Hispanic households and a rise in unemployment, or the same foreign policy that has made Americans and our allies less safe while emboldening anti-American sentiment across the globe, Hispanic voters are looking for change."
The unprecedented $20 million commitment to engage and mobilize Hispanics will include voter mobilization, voter registration, online organizing, community outreach and paid advertising. Part of the effort will also include "Camp Obama" trainings around the country, which will empower Hispanics with the organizing tools and information they need to engage and turn out voters in their home neighborhoods and states. Both the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee also have Hispanic staff involved at every level of the campaign, from field organizers to senior roles.
Senator Barack Obama’s campaign has already spent more on Hispanic outreach than any presidential campaign before it, and now the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee will join together in this unprecedented initiative to continue promoting engagement and mobilization among Hispanic voters and build on already overwhelming Hispanic support for the Democratic party and Senator Obama.
