Farrell courts Hispanic voters in tight race

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. --As a new poll showed the 4th Congressional District race dead even, Democrat Diane Farrell pulled out a new weapon from afar Tuesday, bringing in the governor of Puerto Rico to stump for her.

Farrell is hoping the large and growing Hispanic vote will make the difference in her effort to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Chris Shays and help Democrats regain control of Congress.

The Fairfield County district is better known for the rich towns of Connecticut's Gold Coast, but it also is among 12 to 15 highly competitive congressional races around the country where Hispanic voters account for 10 percent of more of the electorate.

"The Hispanic vote is getting a tremendous amount of attention," said Adam J. Segal, director of the Hispanic Voter Project at Johns Hopkins University. "There's every reason to believe that Hispanic voters can make the difference in this election. That's exactly why you'd see a politician from so far away come to try to motivate the voters there."

Hispanics are 10.7 percent of eligible voters in the 4th District, the highest percentage of any district in Connecticut, according to Pew Hispanic Center. The U.S. electorate this year is 8.6 percent Hispanic, up from 8.2 percent in 2004, according to the center.

Democrats hope to turn back the Republican Party's advances among Hispanic voters in recent years as they try to recapture control of Congress. President Bush's efforts to court Hispanic voters have helped double the GOP's share since 2000.

An analysis by the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials concluded that Hispanic voters can prove critical in competitive Senate races in New Jersey and Washington, and House contests in Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, New Mexico, Texas and Washington. In each state, the number of Hispanics has grown much faster than the non-Hispanic population since the start of the decade.

On Tuesday, Anibal Acevedo Vila, governor of Puerto Rico, echoed Farrell's criticism of the war in Iraq, saying the money could be better spent fighting poverty in Bridgeport and to improve health care and education.

"Her priorities are very similar to my priorities as governor," Acevedo said at a community center in Bridgeport. "You don't go to Congress to make the rich more richer."

He also said he would urge people listening to a local Spanish-language radio station to vote for Farrell.

Michael Sohn, Shays' campaign manager, said Democrats run Bridgeport. Shays, who lives in Bridgeport, has worked hard to bring jobs and economic growth to the city by securing millions of dollars for transportation projects and money for after-school programs, a museum, emergency shelter, hospital and other projects, his campaign said.

"Is it more important to bring the governor of Puerto Rico here or show results in Bridgeport," Sohn said. "It's just more rhetoric and no substance from Diane Farrell."

Farrell said Shays and other Republicans have neglected those who need help the most in cities such as Bridgeport, while spending $250 million daily on the war in Iraq. She endorsed tax incentives for businesses that create jobs.

"I believe that when we level the playing field for small business, we'll see less vacant storefronts not only here in Bridgeport, but across the district and around the nation," Farrell said.

The race is a rematch of the 2004 contest, which Shays won with 52 percent of the vote to Farrell's 48 percent. The district is one of three in Connecticut that Democrats are targeting as they try to win the 15 seats they need to take back the House.

A poll released Tuesday by the University of Connecticut and The Hartford Courant found each candidate with support from 43 percent of likely voters, with the war in Iraq as the driving issue.

Acevedo also has campaigned for Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez, who faces a close race in New Jersey. Others, such as New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, have been helping candidates trying to reach Hispanic voters, said Segal, the Hispanic Voter Project director.

Radio is a particularly powerful way to reach Hispanic voters, Segal said, citing the massive immigration rallies over the past year.