As mid-term elections near, political parties are drawing battle lines and building strategies to come out successful in November. For both parties much of their success will be rooted on how well they appeal Latinos — especially in California, Colorado, Texas and Florida where 2/3 of all Hispanic registered voters reside.

Always considered the litmus test and among the top three most important issues, immigration now stands as the number one most vital among Hispanics.

A survey by National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund showed 27 percent of 1600 Hispanics surveyed — 400 for each of the states mentioned — ranked immigration above unemployment, cost of living, healthcare and education.

A panel mediated by NALEO executive director Arturo Vargas included Democratic strategist María Cardona and GOP strategist Leslie Sánchez. They were at hand at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. July 20, to discuss how each party sees Hispanic influence in the mid-term elections.     

Cardona, a native of Bogotá, Colombia, now principal at the Dewey Square Group said, "Latinos should definitely be looked at as a swing vote because we have seen some trends, Republicans should be very frightened." she said.

Cardona added that although Republicans have made their way to the November elections without the Latino vote times before, she emphasized their need to "further examine" their tactics.

When it came to immigration, Cardona echoed the message promoted by Obama, heightened July 1 during his first speech on immigration since taking office. His message reiterated time and time again that advocacy groups and Hispanics organizations should vent their frustration on Republicans.

Sánchez told Hispanic Link that Obama's call to castigate the Republican Party for inaction on immigration was a political ploy.

"Political spin and mobilizing a democratic Latino base for November," Sánchez said. "It is a serious issue that needs serious attention but not a couple of months prior to an election."

Sánchez maintained that the immigration debate was "missing a lion" to push for a bill, one such as late Sen. Ted Kennedy who sought support across the aisle, saying, "Republicans want to see sincere efforts."

And while Sánchez argued the GOP will seek out Hispanic support in November by being "inclusive as they are with their general public," she made it clear that the term "comprehensive" is code for "amnesty" to Republicans and that if Democrats used that word to garner support, "that dog won't hunt."

Cardona quickly countered by saying that "comprehensive is the words Latinos need to hear."

What both strategist agreed on, however, was that Arizona and its immigration law SB1070 which takes effect this week and challenged federally July 6, was the catalyst for both parties to talk about immigration.

Both Latina strategists put aside their political ideology when Illinois State Senator Iris Martínez said that enforcement moves such as the one made by Arizona were not fueled by a need for safety, but racism. "I'm hearing that Arizona is now trying to pass legislation where hospitals will not issue birth certificates to children of undocumented who are born on U.S. soil," Martínez said.

Although she backs the administration 100 percent when it comes to securing the borders, she believes that the issue is evolving into an "anti-Latino" one.  "Their fight is with Latinos only, no one else," she later told Hispanic Link.

Sánchez and Cardona both agreed that if immigration is not addressed it would escalate in 2011.

Census Bureau findings show that there are now 47 million Hispanics in the United States. NALEO found that roughly 6.6 million (more than 60 percent) Latinos will vote in November.