Poll: Latinos see poor GOP minority outreach
Editor’s note: In America follows the fight to win an essential voting bloc in Nevada, a battleground state with one of the fastest-growing Latino populations in the nation. Soledad O’Brien reports in “Latino in America: Courting Their Vote” on CNN TV at 8 p.m. ET Sunday.
By CNN Political Unit
(CNN) – A new CNN/ORC International poll released Friday finds Latino voters don't think the Republican Party has done a good job reaching out to minorities and the Democratic Party cares more about people like them, agree with them on important issues and can improve economic conditions.
Friday's release shows that only 33% of likely Latino voters think the GOP has done a good job reaching out to minorities compared to the 77% who think Democrats have done a good job.
The poll also indicates 69% of likely Latino voters believe the Democratic Party cares more about people like them while only 24% say the GOP cares more than the Democrats do.
The survey - taken entirely before Wednesday's first presidential debate in Denver - also shows 62% of Latinos think the Democratic Party can help to improve economic conditions. Only 32% think the Republican Party can better fix the economy.
Friday's survey comes after a CNN/ORC poll released Tuesday showed President Barack Obama retaining a significant lead over rival Mitt Romney in the key voting demographic–70% to Romney's 26%–matching the level of support he received from Latinos in 2008.
Read the full story on CNN's Political Ticker
Opinion: A plea to millennials: Get out the vote
Editor's note: To many Baby Boomers and Gen Xers, the millennial generation is a mystery. These 18- to 29-year-olds are history's very first "always connected" generation, defined by all their phones and gadgets, and they've been accused of being overly entitled. The series "Millennials: A Generation Revealed" takes an eye-opening look at this group of Americans coming into their own, what they want out of life, and how they plan to get it.
(CNN) - We grew up in project buildings. We grew up at the end of cul-de-sacs. We grew up five miles from the nearest house. We grew up in America. We come from backgrounds of luxury and struggle. We finished school with honors, and we dropped out. We voted for the first time, and we only just registered. We didn't understand red states or blue states. We understood that these are the United States.
And as a generation, we millennials must be united in the fact that the collective power we possess will allow us to do great things for this country that we call our home. We must show this power en masse on Election Day, one vote by one vote.
Millennials to candidates: Talk to us
We are bombarded with television analysis, newspaper opinions, blogs, tweets, Facebook posts, radio commentators and street corner preachers that all offer some perspective about who will decide the election between President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Over the course of months, this commentary puts the power in the hands of various constituencies. Seniors in Florida. Independent women in New Hampshire. The unemployed in Ohio. Every day, some new group gets handed the magic wand that will choose the winner of this year's battle.
Opinion: Why this election is so personal
But, let me be straight. The battle begins with millennials, those much-maligned 18-to 29-year olds for whom so much is at stake. For this is our future.
FULL STORY
The year of the political Latino celebrity, starring Eva Longoria
Editor’s note: In America follows the fight to win an essential voting bloc in Nevada, a battleground state with one of the fastest-growing Latino populations in the nation. Soledad O’Brien reports in “Latino in America: Courting Their Vote” on CNN TV at 8 p.m. ET Sunday.
By Cindy Y. Rodriguez, CNN
(CNN) - Eva Longoria is considered one of the most politically involved celebrities in this election cycle. But it's not a new role for her. She has been politically active for 20 years now, and it all started in high school.
“My government and economics teacher gave us a project where we all had to volunteer during the election. We could choose whatever party, but we had to volunteer and help register people to vote. It was part of our grade,” Longoria said. ”So I caught the political bug from there.”
That was when the "Desperate Housewives" star was a 17-year-old student at Roy Miller High School in Corpus Christi, Texas, during the first Clinton presidential campaign.
Years later, she was quite vocal during President Barack Obama’s 2008 bid, and this year she is co-chairwoman on his re-election campaign.
Beyond Longoria, it seems like 2012 has become the ultimate year of the politically active Latino celebrity, with the likes of Rosario Dawson working very closely with Voto Latino, a nonpartisan organization aimed at bringing diverse voices in the political process to promote positive change. FULL POST
About In America
What defines you? Maybe it’s the shade of your skin, the place you grew up, the accent in your words, the make up of your family, the gender you were born with, the intimate relationships you chose to have or your generation? As the American identity changes we will be there to report it. In America is a venue for creative and timely sharing of news that explores who we are. Reach us at inamerica@cnn.com.
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