For a Better life....Hillary is scheduled to continue her pandering to the "Illegal alien" community in NJ today ..... that in a state that is a sanctuary state where four black college students were murdered by ilelgal aliens from Mexico and Nicaragua, and a state that spends 2.1 billion dollars to support the illegal aliens that live there!

N.J. Latino support a question mark for Democrats
Home News Tribune Online 01/23/08

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By MICHAEL RISPOLI
GANNETT STATE BUREAU

TRENTON — As Democratic presidential hopefuls jockey for support from the state's Latino population, it's unclear just how prominent a role that vote will play in New Jersey's upcoming primary.



Polls after the Nevada caucuses showed strong support among Latinos for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton; one MSNBC poll showed Clinton enjoyed a nearly three-to-one edge among that population over her main challenger, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.

Hoping to ride that wave into the Garden State, Clinton, D-N.Y., has scheduled one of her two North Jersey stops this evening in North Bergen, for an event sponsored by the Latino Political Action Committee Alliance, which is made up of several Latino political committees from across the state.

Some 1,400 people are expected to attend, said Clinton spokesman Brendan Gilfillan.

U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., a vocal backer of Clinton, cited Clinton's support on immigrant family reunification and providing health care for uninsured children as reasons for her being "our advocate and our supporter."

"For all those reasons, she's going to get a very strong vote from our community," said Menendez, the son of Cuban immigrants.

Although nearly 16 percent of the state's population is made up of Latinos, not all political observers see the Latino vote as a deal-breaker in the Democratic primary.

Because New Jersey's participation in an early primary is relatively new — before this year, the primary was held in June — analysts are unsure which voters will show up, said Tim Vercellotti, director of polling at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University.

"I think (the Latino vote) will be less of a factor here than places California on Super Tuesday, but any edge helps when the race is tightening up," Vercellotti said.

Feb. 5 has been dubbed "Super Tuesday" by many because 24 states — including New Jersey — will hold presidential primaries or caucuses that day.

Vercellotti expects Latino voters to represent a "single-digit" share of the electorate, saying they accounted for 10 percent of voters in November 2004 and — even though Menendez was on the ballot — 9 percent of voters in 2006. Turnouts for primaries are historically lower than other elections, and Vercellotti cautioned that "anything can happen."

Monmouth University Polling Institute director Patrick Murray said, "I doubt very much there is going to be some huge Hispanic turnout" for Clinton but added they tend to be "more Hillary than Obama."

"We aren't seeing anything definitive right now as far as the role they are going to play in New Jersey," said Murray.

Obama supporters have not conceded the state's Latino vote, as "Latinos for Obama" are holding a rally Friday in Jersey City. Obama is not expected to attend, but Jersey City Council President Mariano Vega Jr., who is hosting the event, said it is more about galvanizing the Latino community around the candidate.

In general, however, Vega figures Latinos will "make a big difference" in the upcoming primary and that the candidates are starting to pay attention.

"People are beginning to notice. They (Latinos) can make a difference on a tight election, and this is certainly one that will go down to the wire, I believe," said Vega.

Clinton held a 12 percentage point advantage over Obama among New Jersey Democrats, according to a Monmouth University poll released last week, but the gap narrowed from earlier polls.

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CLINTON IN JERSEY

U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has two events scheduled in New Jersey tonight.

At 5:30 p.m., a "Solutions for America" rally is scheduled to be held at Bergen County Academies, 200 Hackensack Ave., Hackensack.

At 7 p.m., a "Juntos con Hillary, a una Vida Mejor" rally is planned in Scuetzen Park, 3167 Kennedy Blvd., North Bergen.