Clinton Heads West in Search of Latino Vote

May 30, 2007— -- At a packed union hall just blocks from the Las Vegas strip but closer to seedy massage parlors than the glitz and glam of the casinos, the chatter preceding Sen.Hillary Clinton's arrival was a mixture of Spanish and English.

A banner on the wall read "El Sueno en Las Vegas" -- "The Las Vegas Dream."

Of the 60,000 members of the local Culinary Workers union, about 45 percent are Latino.

And on swings through Nevada and California Wednesday, the Democrat from New York is trying to build support in the Hispanic community, most notably with a key endorsement announcement in Los Angeles.

Popular Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is putting his weight behind Clinton.

While it's hard to prove the impact of a politician's endorsements in any race, Villaraigosa's nod comes early, and the campaign clearly hopes it will influence Latino voters.

In a boastful memo sent around by the campaign, Clinton campaign strategists Mark Penn and Sergio Bendixen touted the senator's record on Hispanic issues and called her "the overwhelming favorite among Latino voters."

They called Villaraigosa's endorsement "proof that the Clinton Campaign's focus and strategy to win the Latino vote continues to grow stronger."

The memo cited polling that indicated high favorability ratings for Clinton among Hispanic voters, and polls in states with large Hispanic populations where Clinton is leading.

Other campaigns don't dispute the poll numbers cited by Clinton's camp, but point out that it is still early and if she is leading nationally, it would make sense that she might lead among the subset of Hispanic voters.

At both Nevada events, Clinton was asked about immigration.

At the union hall, she spoke about the need to pass the reform bill now that's pending in the Senate and said she would try to amend the legislation to make it more friendly to immigrant families.

"I'm leading the way for trying to get the spouses and minor children of legal permanent residents allowed to come to the United States," Clinton said.

After the event, Josefina Pimentel, a cashier at a restaurant in Ceasar's Palace, said she was impressed by the senator.