It's the Immigration . . .

In mid September 2008, polls showed Sen. Obama leading Sen. McCain with Latino voters by a margin of 2 to 1. Although Sen. McCain had joined Sen. Ted Kennedy in co-sponsoring a failed immigration bill in 2006, he took the immigration fight to the airwaves. 

In Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico, Sen. McCain ran Spanish-language ads accusing his opponent of causing immigration overhaul to fail in 2007. Critics denounced McCains attacks as misleading, and reminded voters that McCain himself said in Republican debates that he would vote against his own immigration bill today.


On September 17, 2012, presidential candidate Mitt Romney, trailing President Obama with Hispanic voters by a large margin - Latinas 74% to 21% and Latino men 61% to 32%, pledged to fix the U.S. immigration system in a newly launched appeal to Hispanic voters.

To polite applause, Mr. Romney cited unemployment stats and told 1400 business owners at the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Los Angeles: "I am convinced that the Republican Party is the rightful home of Hispanic Americans."