Las Vegas Sun

By Tovin Lapan

Sun, Oct 5, 2014 (2 a.m.)

It was the first debate in the race for lieutenant governor, hosted by Hispanics in Politics.

The moderator asked Democrat Lucy Flores and Republican Mark Hutchison why the Hispanic community should vote for them.

Flores, a daughter of immigrants and former petty criminal who became a lawyer and assemblywoman, told the crowd: “This isn’t just a political demographic for me that a consultant told me I needed to win over. It’s my community.”

Flores’ campaign will be a test of whether Democrats can rally Nevada’s growing Hispanic population to show up at the polls and influence a statewide race.

Politicians have courted Hispanic voters for years. Yet in 2012, more Hispanics stayed home than went to the polls nationwide.

For Flores, the conditions are ideal to reverse that trend. She’s young, energetic and a Latina at the crossroads of culture and language who can identify with many Hispanic voters coming from a similar place.

“Lucy Flores represents the next generation of Latina candidates within the Democratic Party,” said Pili Tobar, western regional press secretary and director of Hispanic media for the Democratic Party.

The question is whether Flores can deliver Hispanic voters in a midterm election when most of the base — young, minority Democrats — typically don’t vote.

From trouble to top of the ticket

Flores’ story is well known in political circles. She rose from gang member and petty criminal to UNLV-trained lawyer. She won a seat in the Nevada Assembly in 2010, representing neighborhoods east of downtown and parts of North Las Vegas.

She has earned attention from the national press, with an MSNBC article in July titled, “Is Lucy Flores the Latina star Democrats have been waiting for?” and inclusion by Cosmo Latina on a list of political power players with Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Eva Longoria, actress and founder of the Latino Victory Project political action committee.

For Democrats, Flores figures into the party’s future. Democrats have just one Hispanic who is a governor or U.S. senator. The GOP has four.

The Democratic National Committee, typically more involved with presidential races, gave Flores its most valuable tool: the party’s database of actual and potential Democratic voters.

Still, while Flores has earned national attention and support, recognition among Nevada voters is a different challenge.

Flores won election to the state Assembly twice, but she had no Republican opponent in 2012. And 2014 is not 2010, when a wave of Tea Party candidates took hard-line, enforcement-only stances on immigration. Then, Hispanic voters who normally stay home during midterm elections were motivated to turn out for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s race against Tea Party candidate Sharron Angle.

Getting out the Hispanic vote

Mi Familia Vota, a nonpartisan group that promotes civic engagement among Hispanics in six states, worked vigorously in 2012 in Nevada to encourage Hispanic turnout.

This year, the organization has put more money toward elections in Colorado, where there is a competitive Senate race. The local Mi Familia Vota team suspended its voter registration drive this summer because it was short on money.

The group picked up its voter registration campaign in September and soon will start a door-to-door campaign to encourage Hispanic and other voters to turn out.

“Most people don’t really know an election is going on,” canvass lead Francisco Gonzalez said.

On a recent Friday, Mi Familia Vota set up at the DMV office on East Sahara Avenue. Few people were interested in registering, and even fewer knew anything about the upcoming election.

Rene Escandon, a Democrat who said he votes the party line every time, was one of the few who enthusiastically grabbed a clipboard to update his voter information.

“I don’t know any of (the candidates). I just go down the list and vote for the Democrats,” Escandon said.

Fernando Romero, president of Hispanics in Politics, said some Hispanic voters, including a few in his own family, are fed up with politicians and disenchanted about the process.

“Unfortunately, you don’t have the candidates going after the Latino community with the enthusiasm I’ve seen in the past,” Romero said. “That’s somewhat perplexing. They want the Latino vote but aren’t willing to pay for it.”

Frustration saps enthusiasm

President Barack Obama’s decision to delay executive action on immigration until after November could play against Flores. A June poll by Latino Decisions showed that 54 percent of registered Hispanic voters would be less likely to vote and 57 percent said they would be less likely to support Democratic candidates if the president did not take action.

“I think a lot of Hispanics are frustrated, because they were promised things would change,” Gonzalez said. “Now they are told to wait until November, and they feel like they’ve been lied to.”

An analysis by UNLV political scientist David Damore also shows Hispanic turnout could be weak. About one-third of Nevada’s Hispanic voters are considered unlikely to vote, according to Damore, also a senior analyst at Latino Decisions.

Democrats stand to lose more if Hispanic voters on the fence decide not to cast ballots. About 68 percent of Nevada’s registered Hispanic voters are Democrats, according to Damore’s study.

Damore found that Nevada has about 67,000 Hispanic voters who are unlikely to turn out this year. In the 2010 election, that would have been enough votes for the Democratic candidate to overcome a nine-point loss.

“Without top-of-the-ticket effects, it’s up to Lucy to mobilize those voters because Dina doesn’t need them,” Damore said, referring to U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, a Las Vegas Democrat whose district already leans heavily Democratic. “This is a dynamic you find in a lot of these contests, where there are safe Democratic districts with a lot of nonwhite voters, and there’s no spending and competition. So those voters are less likely to engage, and it hurts statewide races for Democrats.”

Handful or truckload?

After the 2012 presidential loss, GOP strategists implored Republicans to reach out to Hispanics.

But many Hispanics have been turned off by House Republicans’ repeated efforts to block immigration reform. At the Hispanics in Politics debate, Flores did her best to link Hutchison with House Republicans.

But Hutchison is no Sharron Angle. He has endorsed comprehensive immigration reform.

“I was raising a family, building a business, supporting my community, working hard at my church, living the American dream, and in 2012, I ran for the state Senate,” he said, emphasizing that he is no career politician. “And as soon as I was able to run for the state Senate and I was able to vote, I voted on issues important to the Hispanic community, to the immigrant community.”

Both candidates received rounds of applause, and there were no gaffes to mend. Later, Romero called the debate a tie.

“It’s my goal and Hispanics in Politics’ goal to get as much participation from the Latino voters as possible,” Romero said. “But right now, I couldn’t tell you if we are going to see a handful or a truckload. I hope it’s a truckload.”

Amber Phillips contributed to this report.

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