Remember in 2008 when the Obama campaign decided to go after Virginia and North Carolina and pundits shook there heads? Well, the Obama campaign is giving serious thought about putting Arizona into play this election cycle.
It is not hard to understand why the Obama campaign, which has a history of challenging established political wisdom, might be tempted to throw some resources here.
College students in Arizona are legally entitled to residency, and thus are able to vote, after living here for 30 days. The Latino population has nearly doubled over the past 10 years — it now makes up 30 percent of the overall population, and about 19 percent of the voting age population — though Democrats have long been frustrated over their lack of success at registering Latino voters and getting them to the polls. The announcement by Richard Carmona, a former United States surgeon general, who is Latino, that he would run as a Democrat for an open Senate seat here has stirred hopes that his presence could pump up Latino participation this fall.