McCain Needs Half the Hispanic Vote to Win, Martinez Says

WASHINGTON — The Republican presidential nominee will need to win about half the Hispanic vote in order to be elected in November, Sen. Mel Martinez said Wednesday.

Martinez, R-Fla., the only Cuban-born member of the Senate and one of only three Hispanic members, told a luncheon audience of the Latino Leaders Network that the Hispanic vote already has played a crucial role in this year's presidential contest and could help determine the outcome.

Noting that President Bush received about 35 percent of the Hispanic vote in 2000 and 44 percent in 2004, Martinez said, "whoever is going to be the next president of the United States is going to have to receive somewhere in the vicinity of 50 percent of the Hispanic vote."

Martinez later clarified that he was talking about Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, because Democratic candidates historically have received well over 50 percent of the Hispanic vote.

Martinez noted that many political observers had all but dismissed the Arizona senator's candidacy a year ago, partly because of his support for comprehensive immigration reform, a highly divisive issue in the Republican Party.

But Martinez said McCain's support for immigration reform at a time when his GOP opponents, particularly former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, were taking a hard-line stance against illegal immigration may have been the deciding factor that won him the nomination.

Although McCain and Romney each received about a third of the non-Hispanic vote during Florida's Jan. 29 GOP primary, McCain won about 54 percent of the Hispanic vote, Martinez noted. That may have been crucial, he said, because McCain's victory in Florida helped pave the way for his ultimate leadership of the GOP field.

In Texas, Martinez noted that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York carried about two-thirds of the Hispanic vote Tuesday, helping her beat Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois in the Democratic primary.

"I think it was absolutely the telling factor in her winning the state," Martinez said.

Issues that are of importance in the Hispanic community are largely the same as among the general electorate, Martinez said, particularly health care and national security.

"I think it's about how you present yourself to that community. I think it's about how you campaign in that community. I think President Bush did a good job of that, and I think people related to him and understood (him)," Martinez said.

He said, "I think John McCain will be exceptional at that as well because he has a history of being concerned about the immigration issue. ... At the end of the day he believes in a strong border but also understands that we have to treat people with some level of compassion."