Democrats actively courting Latinos

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Democrats are reaching out to Latino voters as the presidential campaign moves into California, Nevada and Arizona.

The Los Angeles Times said candidates are advertising heavily in Spanish, running bilingual phone banks and making sure door-knockers are fluent in English and Spanish.

Harry Pachon, head of the University of Southern California's Tomas Rivera Policy Institute, said the campaigning is a departure from the old days of what he called "taco-and-sombrero politics,"

"The candidate would come into town, say a couple of words in mangled Spanish, eat a taco, wear a sombrero," Pachon told the newspaper. "Times have changed."

The Latino vote will be particularly crucial Feb. 5, when more than 20 states cast primary votes, the newspaper said.

"The closer an election, the more important the Latino vote becomes," said Fernando Guerra, director of Loyola Marymount University's Center for the Study of Los Angeles.