Democratic Presidential Candidate Sen. Clinton Promotes Health Care Proposal To Attract Hispanic Voters
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) is "calculating" that her experience on the issue of health care will provide her with an advantage over rival Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) among Hispanic voters, the Wall Street Journal reports.
According to the Journal, the "Hispanic vote is huge" in many of the states that will hold Democratic presidential primaries on Feb. 5, as Hispanics account for 22.8% of eligible voters in California, 17% in Arizona, 12.3% in Colorado, 11.4% in New York and 9.9% in New Jersey. A nationwide survey conducted last fall by Pew Hispanic Center found that Hispanics cited education, health care and the economy as their most important issues.
As a result, the Clinton campaign "plays up" her health care proposal and the "fact that her plan demands universal coverage for all Americans while Mr. Obama's" would require coverage only for children, the Journal reports. The Clinton campaign also believes that "rising economic anxiety" will provide "extra punch to the Clinton history and emphasis on health care," according to the Journal (Kaufman/Seib, Wall Street Journal, 1/29).