Hispanic group touts GOP

Otto Merida traces his devotion to the Republican Party all the way back to 1961's failed Bay of Pigs invasion, which left many Cuban Americans distrustful of the Democratic Party.

Xavier Rivas was one of the Young Republicans for Nixon.

Manuel Vazquez has always believed that the values of the Hispanic community are the same as the values of the Republican Party.

"It's a natural fit," he said. "Faith, family and responsible living."

The three men were part of Monday's first official meeting of the Nevada chapter of the National Republican Hispanic Assembly, a loosely formed grass-roots group whose aim is to encourage Hispanics to get more interested in politics and turn out to vote -- something the local Democratic Party has long been doing.

About 40 people showed up at Ricardo's Mexican restaurant on West Flamingo Road for the event.

They said they had news for anyone who thinks Hispanic equals Democrat: Think again.

Republicans emphasize "family values, economic independence and free trade," Rivas said.

Still, Hispanic Democrats appear to far outnumber Hispanic Republicans locally, according to the Clark County Election Department.

As of Monday, there were 18,679 active Republican voters with Hispanic surnames, compared to 44,906 Democrats with such surnames in Clark County.

A recent poll of Nevada Hispanics also found them to be leaning strongly Democratic.

The poll, conducted by Latino Decisions, a new project that aims to survey Hispanic voters in states where they are a major presence, surveyed 400 registered Hispanic voters in Nevada.

Of those, 24 percent were registered Republicans, 58 percent Democrats. The poll carried a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.

Moreover, when asked their party affiliation, only 17 percent told interviewers they were Republicans. That means even some Hispanics who have registered with the GOP no longer want to associate themselves with it, said Gary Segura, a political scientist at the University of Washington and senior researcher for Latino Decisions.

Some Hispanic Republicans may have been alienated by the recent immigration battle in Congress. Segura's poll found that most blamed the collapse of proposed compromise immigration legislation on Republicans.

Merida said most Hispanic Republicans support an immigration policy that would first secure the nation's borders, then allow people who are already living illegally in the United States a way to work toward legal status.

"The Democrats have done a good job saying Republicans are anti-immigrant, and we are losing votes because of it," Merida, who serves as chair of the new local assembly, said. "We need to show them there's another way."

Merida said Hispanic Republicans hope to persuade other Republicans to reconsider their tougher position on immigration.

"We need to have an input. We need to be at the table."

Rivas agreed.

"We need to take a close look at how to get good people to legal status," he said. "We have to take care of these people, not deport them."

Rivas's political orientation may be particularly surprising to some. Earlier this year Rivas, the host of a Spanish-language radio talk show on KRLV-AM, 1340, helped launch "Mi Familia con Richardson," a locally developed Hispanic outreach effort in support of Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson. The effort went national in August.

Rivas said he was simply showing his appreciation for a Hispanic man running for office. But he's a diehard Republican who wants the opportunity to support more Hispanic candidates on his own party's ticket.

Merida's political leanings may be less surprising. He came to the United States in 1961 as part of Operation Peter Pan, in which 14,000 unaccompanied Cuban children fled Cuba as political refugees. Many Cuban Americans deeply resent the Fidel Castro regime and are more in tune with the GOP's stronger anti-communist stance.

"Cubans are by nature conservative," Merida said.

Merida is now president of the Latin Chamber of Commerce.

Contact reporter Lynnette Curtis at lcurtis@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0285.