Soledad O’Brien Examines the Chase for Latino Votes in Nevada and Beyond
Latino in America: Courting Their Vote debuts Sunday, Oct. 7 at 8:00p.m. ET & PT
Nearly 60,000 Latinos turn 18 each
month in the United States
and many pollsters predict the collective impact of Latino votes will be a
deciding factor in several of the most contested “battleground states” for the
2012 presidential election. CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad
O’Brien reports on how Democrats and Republicans are reaching out to the
swing voter demographic of Latinos, with a lens on the pivotal state of Nevada, a state with both the fastest-growing Latino
community in the nation, and a state that has voted for the last 24 of the last
25 U.S.
presidents.
Latino in America:
Courting Their Vote debuts on CNN/U.S. on Sunday, Oct. 7 at 8:00p.m. and 11:00p.m. ET and PT.
According to the Pew Hispanic
Center, there are 24
million Latinos eligible to vote in the 2012 election. O’Brien interviews
political heavy-hitters of both parties who are courting these voters,
including Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D), a surrogate for President Obama’s campaign and
chairman of the Democratic National Convention, and Hector Barreto (R),
one of the chairmen of “Juntos Con Romney” – the Latino outreach organization
for Governor Romney’s campaign. Barreto is the former Administrator of
the U.S. Small Business Administration (2001 to 2006).
O’Brien also debriefs the
challenging statistics motivating Nevada’s
Latinos to the polls: high unemployment, foreclosures, improved public schools,
and asks – “is either party really listening?”
In Nevada,
O’Brien speaks to Democratic state senator Ruben Kihuen, who had hoped
to be Nevada’s
first-ever Latino U.S. Congressman. He feels his biography represents the
aspirations of many Latinos. Born in Guadalajara,
Mexico, Kihuen came to the U.S. with little more than a backpack, quickly
focused on his education, graduated from the University of Nevada,
became a community activist, and eventually was elected to the Nevada State
Assembly. But, O’Brien asks Kihuen if deferred hopes for
comprehensive immigration reform indicate that Democrats are not truly committed to Latinos – beyond seeking
their votes.
Republican Cecilia Aldana left
Peru 30 years ago for America,
working her way up from housekeeper to bank teller, to managing a lucrative
chain of medical clinics which cater to Latinos. Aldana wants to help her
party do more to focus on jobs, business-friendly immigration policies, and
education to support the aspirations of Latinos like her – and, Aldana tells
O’Brien, that the GOP does not engage her community with issues important to
her community.
Latino in America: Courting Their Vote will replay on the network on
Saturday, Oct. 13 at 8:00pm and 11:00pm ET and PT on CNN/U.S.
In addition to the documentary, a CNN/ORC International poll with exclusive polling of Latino adults will explore the presidential preference of Latino voters as well as campaign issues of importance to Latinos in America. Also, CNN/U.S. will air a series of special enterprise reports on Latinos active in the conservative and Occupy movements, examining how the Latino demographic is impacting politics across the country, analysis of campaign messages directed towards Latino voters, reporting on debate performance feedback from Latino students from the first presidential debate, and more.
Online users can find
continuing coverage on election demographic issues, as well as how new voting
laws may impact the 2012 election, at www.cnn.com/inamerica. For breaking
political news, opinion editorials, and campaign developments, users can follow
CNN’s Political Ticker via Twitter and visit CNNPolitics for additional content.
Kimberly Arp-Babbit is the senior
producer for Latino in America.
Cameo George, Robert Howell, Tina Matherson, Elizabeth Nunez, Dave Timko
are the producers. Jennifer Hyde is the managing editor and Bud Bultman
and Geraldine Moriba executive produced this documentary for CNN.
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