“Alternative to Romney” Race Heads to Florida

From my new piece at NBCLatino:

The “alternative to Romney” race will now drag the frontrunner through Florida, giving Republican Hispanics a legitimate opportunity to weigh in on their nominee and forcing Romney to find his way back to the middle on issues such as immigration faster than he would have liked.

Unlike the first three primary states, where Hispanics constitute less than 2% of the overall vote in each state, the Hispanic vote actually matters in Florida, even in a primary. In 2008, Florida’s Hispanic voters accounted for 12% of 2008 GOP primary voters; 54% broke for McCain, 24% for Giuliani, and only 14% for Romney.

In an effort to win over conservative voters, Romney has spent the past year espousing views formerly ascribed only to the GOP fringe, most recently promising to veto the DREAM Act.  But as Florida approaches, Romney will need to pivot.