Tea Party Is Attracting Hispanics in Texas

Daniel Moreno, of Elko, Nev., listens to speeches during a rally held by the Tea Party Express Monday, Oct. 18, 2010, in Elko, Nev. The Tea Party Express is touring the country by bus for the next two weeks and will make 29 stops crossing 20 different states until it ends in Concord, N.H. on Nov. 1. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

Hispanic voters in Texas are increasingly attracted to the Tea Party.

The majority of the voters in Texas' 27th district is of Mexican descent and, for years, Democrats like Rep. Solomon Ortíz, who has been in Congress since 1982, have enjoyed their support.

But mounting anger against incumbents this election season, fueled by the supporters of the conservative Tea Party movement, is beginning to influence voters and the race between Ortíz and Republican Blake Farenthold is closer than expected.

"As unlikely as it sounds, the Tea Party is mobilizing Hispanic voters," said Guadalupe Correa Cabrera, professor of government at the University of Texas in Brownsville.

"Hispanics typically did not vote for Anglo-Saxon candidates but I think that is changing, especially among todays young people."

In recent rallies in Brownsville, organizers of the Tea Party have begun chanting slogans in Spanish like "Send Ortíz to China," a Mexican play on words that perhaps may have won them some points among younger voters because of its snarkyness.

For the full story in Spanish click here.