(Newser)
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If he wants to win in November, Mitt Romney will need to make giant strides among Hispanics, and he knows it. A failure to do so "spells doom for us," he was caught saying at a fundraiser. President Obama already appears to have a large electoral-vote lead—247 to 191—and the Hispanic vote is key to winning states that remain in play. But Obama, who leads among Hispanics by 67% to 27%, already has some big advantages: Romney has, for instance, backed Arizona's controversial immigration law and opposed the Dream Act.
Meanwhile, Obama, unlike Romney and his backers, has been advertising on Spanish-language TV. In three states where Hispanics make up at least 13% of the population—New Mexico, Colorado, and Nevada—polls appear to be favoring Obama. In Florida, though Obama leads among Hispanics, Romney appears slightly ahead overall. But Romney supporters say there's time for things to change. "He hasn't begun an aggressive, national campaign for Hispanics," a GOP strategist tells the Tampa Bay Times. "He needs to introduce himself, define himself beyond the narrow narrative coming out of the primary and at the same time go after Obama hard, both on immigration and economic failures."
