cross posted at Lutton Square

Interesting. This was probably helpful in Jim Gerlach barely holding onto his seat; something to be overcome in 2008. Catholic Latinos are probably receptive to the right-wing stance on Abortion rights.

This map I created at nationatlas.gov shows the Reading, PA vicinity. The whole region has an average Latino population of 9%-17%, and the pink area indicates the 'urban' region of Reading. Note that a significant portion of the urban population of the Reading area lies within the current PA-06 Congressional district (which lies primarily to the east and south of Reading itself).

We cannot afford to let these voters slip away next time.

Jim Gerlach credited his win from the Berks County piece of the Sixth Congressional District in part to the efforts of a group of workers flown in from Mississippi at the last minute by the Republican National Committee. They all spoke Spanish, and they were sent into the Latino communities of Reading and other areas of Berks County.

"We must have walked 800 miles," said Rosemary Ramirez Barbour. "There is so much development - and the hills... . We are used to flat land."
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Although this was her first visit to Pennsylvania, Barbour is no stranger to politics. In 2004, she led a similar effort for the NRC in New Mexico. And if her last name sounds familiar, that's because it is. Her husband's uncle is the former Republican National Committee chairman: Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour.