HispanicBusiness

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Latino voters, historically a reliable vote for Republicans in the State of Florida, dramatically changed course this presidential election in support of democratic challenger John Kerry, according to an exit survey conducted by the William C. Velasquez Institute (WCVI). The survey determined that Latinos voted for Senator John Kerry over President George W. Bush by a margin of 52% to 45.7%, a 28-point swing from the 2000 presidential election, when then-governor Bush beat Vice President Gore by a margin of 61% to 39%.

"This is a sea change in terms of the Latino vote in Florida," said Antonio Gonzalez, president of the William C. Velasquez Institute. "Latinos cast over 700,000 votes in this election and can no longer be considered a reliable vote for one party or another. In past elections, Latinos were always looked upon as being on the Republican side of the ledger in Florida. That is no longer the case. Neither political candidates nor parties, going forward, can take the Latino vote for granted."

In determining the results for the presidential race, the WCVI exit survey interviewed 1147 respondents in 45 precincts across nine counties on Election Day.

In the Florida Senate race, Latinos cast their support for Mel Martinez over Betty Castor by a margin of 52.4% to 47.6%. In that survey, the WCVI interviewed 958 respondents in 45 precincts across nine counties. "Latinos split their vote between the major candidates, backing Mel Martinez and John Kerry with almost identical support," concluded Gonzalez.

About the William C. Velasquez Institute

Chartered in 1985, the William C. Velasquez Institute is a nonpartisan, non-profit, Latino-oriented research and policy think tank with offices in San Antonio, Texas and Los Angeles, California. For more information regarding WCVI, please visit our website at http://www.wcvi.org/ . William C. Velasquez Institute

Web site: http://www.wcvi.org/