Locals Discuss Impact of Hispanic Voters

AMARILLO -  With the election just a couple months away, both parties have focused efforts on an increasingly important demographic - Hispanic voters.

"The Hispanic voters have been up for grabs, not just in this year, but in the last probably 12 years. The growth of the Hispanic population in the country has just exploded, and so both parties have been courting  Hispanics," Tonya DeHoyos Detten, Potter County Republican Party Chairwoman said.  

According to Detten, the Republican party has something unique to offer this group of voters.

"The Democratic party has always bragged that they do it better, but I would argue with anyone that when we as Hispanics let go of our victimhood, we realize that we are Republicans," DeHoyos Detten said.

But a local Democrat says her party is more accesible to minorities.

"If you'll look at the Democratic National Convention, it's all inclusive. I mean you see every color, every race," Judge Nancy Bosquez said.

And after San Antonio Mayor, Julian Castro's speech at the DNA, everyone has something to say..

"Almost everything he said was something a Republican could have said. When he said his grandmother worked hard as a maid all her life, he didn't say she got assistance from the government," DeHoyos Detten said.

"The hispanic community identifies with him because he is Latino, and being from the barrio, born and raised in his community," Bosquez said.  

In the end, it really comes down to voter turnout.

"We could have a huge impact if we can get everyone to the polls," Bosquez said, "Just historically, Latinos don't always go out to the polls."