Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama are fighting tooth and nail for Colorado, and the state’s Latino population may be the key to unlock and win the presidency.

McCain and Obama both have been to the Centennial State several times recently. Polls suggest nearly a dead-heat in the state, with McCain carrying a slight lead in a state that voted for anyone ever named George Bush or Republican with the exception of 1992, when the state went to Bill Clinton.

The last time Weld County voted for a Democrat for president was in 1964, when Lyndon B. Johnson beat Barry Goldwater.

But the state, and Weld, are again a battleground because of Weld’s growing minority population and the Democratic party choosing a black man as its candidate.

What remains to be seen is if the Latino vote — which largely supported Hillary Clinton in her presidential bid before she lost to Obama — will vote for the junior Senator from Illinois or McCain.

McCain’s campaign recently released an ad aimed at Latino military veterans and voters that espouses the virtue of the Latino culture on America, namely its willingness to serve in the armed forces.

What’s unclear is what the ad will do for McCain’s chances.

If younger Latino voters are, as polls suggest, supporting Obama in large measure, McCain’s bread and butter in Colorado could be military veterans.

One of those vets is Greeley resident Abe Villarreal, a former Sen. Wayne Allard representative, lifetime Republican and Greeley Pirate radio station personality.

Villarreal, a national delegate for the Republican National Convention, said that unlike some of his Latino counterparts, he is not even considering voting for Obama.

“He doesn’t have the experience,” said Villarreal — a first-generation American — adding that McCain has “been through the fire.”

“I have no idea how (Weld Latino voters) are going to go,” Villarreal said. “Most are Democrats.”

Whoever wins the Latino vote, though, Villarreal said, will be getting an important bloc, one very important to winning Colorado and maybe even the presidency.

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Tags | Election 2008, Latino News, Poltics, Swing States