Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) along with the Democratic National Committee held a press conference this afternoon to discuss an unprecedented commitment by Obama’s presidential campaign to engage Hispanic voters. He and the Democratic National Party together will donate $20 million for outreach to Hispanic and Latino voters in key states.

Cuauhtemoc “Temo” Figueroa, national director for Latino Voter Contact for Obama’s presidential campaign said that the money will be spread throughout all 50 states, with special emphasis on key Latino battleground regions including Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Florida. Rep. Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.) said that the money will be used in specific states with the intention of influencing Latinos in surrounding states. He gave the example of spending heavily in New York in order to influence voters in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Serrano said that the money will be used for television advertisements, online campaigns and to hire a staff of unprecedented numbers to motivate Latino voters. Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said that even though polls have shown tremendous support for Obama from the Latino community, this contribution will ensure that support continues to grow.

Robert Gibbs, the Communications Director of the Obama Campaign, held a conference call to discuss and highlight Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) supposed “week of pandering.” Gibbs said that McCain continually says one thing to one audience and a complete different thing to another audience. (more…)

Rep. Hilda Solis speaks with Talk Radio News Service about Hillary Clinton and voting in the Potomac area primaries. She also talks about the Latino vote in states that have already voted and states like Texas that have upcoming primaries. (8:34)

 

 An interview with Hilda Solis : Play Now | Play in Popup | Download