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Local Republicans Court Hispanic Vote

Sunday, June 29, 2008 7:33:44 AM
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Republicans Art Otero (left) and Julius Melendez try to court the vote of their fellow Hispanics in Osceola County. (6/29/08)

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KISSIMMEE -- With local elections around the corner, many Republican candidates are doing what they can to court the Hispanic vote.

In Osceola County alone, there are 21,603 Hispanic voters registered as Democrats, compared to 8,400 Hispanic registered Republicans.

Some Hispanic Republican candidates running in the county said those numbers do not necessarily reflect the true party affiliation of the people.

"I believe, from the bottom of my heart, if you start explaining the difference between both, and what they believe, most of them would be Republicans," said Art Otero, who is running for Kissimmee City Commissioner.

Julius Melendez, a candidate for the District 2 seat on the Osceola County School Board, said a lot of Hispanic voters simply do not understand the differences in values between the two parties.

"They're a Democrat just because their parents are. They don't know why they are a Democrat," Melendez said. "If you engage somebody, and let them know what's important to you and what you're passionate about, they're willing to follow, and it's not so strongly Democrat as it appears on paper."

Osceola County has a total of four Hispanic Republican candidates. Learn more about all the local candidates in News 13's Florida Decides section.

 

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