Demographers project that by the year 2030 one in every five Americans will be of Hispanic descent. Due to this growth, and to the fact that Hispanics are becoming more politically diverse, the Hispanic vote is becoming increasingly important.

Although historically Hispanics have voted predominantly Democratic, that trend is changing. As recently as the 1996 presidential elections, Republicans received only 22 percent of the Hispanic vote. In 2000, as a result of President George W. Bush's message of "compassionate conservatism," there was a significant jump in the percentage of Hispanics voting Republican, to 35 percent.

During the mid-term elections in 2002, 39 percent of Hispanics voted for Republican candidates. In last year's California gubernatorial race, despite a prominent Hispanic Democrat being in the race, Republicans received 41 percent of the Hispanic vote.

This year, President Bush did better among Hispanics than most polls predicted. He won 44 percent of the Hispanic vote and incredibly the vote of 52 percent of first-generation Hispanics. Those are historic numbers, considering that the number of Hispanics voting Republican has doubled in just eight years and that before Nov. 2, the highest percentage of the Hispanic vote any Republican president had received was 36 percent in Ronald Reagan's 1984 landslide.

This was also the first time in history that the Democratic presidential candidate was not able to obtain at least 55 percent of the Hispanic vote.

Hispanic participation in other national and statewide races is also growing significantly. In 2000, there were 5.9 million Hispanic voters, an increase of 1 million from the prior presidential races. In 2004, that number increased to 7.6 million.

This growth, along with the changes in Hispanic voting patterns, made a difference in the outcome of the 2004 presidential race as well as some congressional races. Hispanics helped the president win at least five key toss-up states where there is a significant Hispanic population (Florida, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Nevada).

Two of these states were won by less than 0.1 percent of the vote in 2000: Florida was won by only 537 votes and New Mexico by only 366 votes.

Hispanics are also having an impact on Utah politics. Approximately 60,000 Hispanics were registered to vote and approximately 40,000 to 42,000 voted. That number is sure to continue to increase and could decide some local races, especially in the Salt Lake area, which houses about 60 percent of the Hispanic population.

This year, two Hispanics from Salt Lake were also elected to the Utah State Legislature, Ross Romero and Mark Archuleta Wheatley. They both happen to be Democrats, but the political changes and the increase in the numbers of Hispanic Republicans in this state indicate that political success for Hispanics is possible in both parties.

During this election, Hispanics have shown that their vote is truly up for grabs and that no party can either take them for granted or ignore them. They have truly become a swing vote. The president has done a good job showing Hispanics that Republican values align well with Hispanic values and helping them realize that there is a home for them in the Republican Party.

The president and the Republican National Committee invested a historic amount in Hispanic outreach; they spent over $11 million communicating their message to the Hispanic community.

Despite misconceptions, issues important to the Hispanic community are not much different from those of the community at large. According to many surveys, Hispanic values align well with Utah's values.

Hispanics are significantly pro-life. They are strong supporters of family values and traditional marriage. They open more small businesses as a percentage than any other population and therefore there is strong support for less taxation and regulation. Hispanics believe in being self-sufficient and that government should help them help themselves. Hispanics do not want a hand-out but a hand up. Poll after poll also show that Hispanics tend to vote more for person than for party.

As a Hispanic, I believe that we want politicians who will take the time to get to know our community and our concerns. We Hispanics do not expect that there will be complete agreement on all issues, but we do expect politicians to listen and to take into consideration our points of view. Political leaders willing to reach out will find, as they better get to know the Hispanic community, that there are more areas of commonality than disagreement.

Those politicians willing to make the effort will find their investment worthwhile.

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Marco Diaz is the state chairman of the Utah Republican Hispanic Assembly.