ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The road to the White House goes through Florida -- more specifically the Interstate 4 corridor.
For the coming 2016 election, a growing population moving to Central Florida, may hold all the power.
Channel 9 anchor Jorge Estevez crunched the numbers and found that a rapidly growing segment of the Hispanic community is causing the shift in power.
Right now Central Florida has about 300,000 Puerto Rican residents.
And with a thousand new Central Floridians moving here every week from Puerto Rico, this area could easily have 350,000 Puerto Rican residents by the time the 2016 election rolls around a little more than a year from now. That would make Puerto Ricans the largest Hispanic group in Florida – a massive voting bloc with the potential to influence the presidential election.
As a result, Christian Castro is a living political statistic.
"I wanted to experience life here," Castro told Estevez
He's 25, Hispanic, and eligible to vote.
"One of the reasons you came here is to express that vote," Estevez noted, and Castro agreed.
He works at Isla Verde, Puerto Rican restaurant in downtown Orlando.
"What did you think of Orlando?" Estevez asked him
"It was kind of a mini Puerto Rico here," Castro responded.
And while we all see politicians fighting to stand out from the crowd, they are already working to stand out to Hispanics.
"Both parties really want to win Florida and to do that they need the Hispanic vote," said WFTV political analyst Rick Foglesong.
Democratic candidates may have an edge. Numbers show three of four new Democrats since 2006 are Hispanic and that growth is the greatest along the I-4 corridor because of the increase in the Puerto Rican population. But Republicans still have a chance to woo Hispanics.
"Being a Democrat in Puerto Rico means something different than being a Democrat here (on the U.S. mainland), and Republicans may well want to exploit that difference," Foglesong said.
The difference is that in Puerto Rico, you have a Popular Party and a Progressive Party, so it's not a clear comparison. Regardless, Castro will get up to speed on national politics in order to vote in his first election.
"If we have that power, it is good," he said.
"You are going to use it," Estevez said.
"Yes, I think I will," Castro said.
Estevez learned that voter turnout is key. Research shows Hispanics do come out and vote in greater numbers, during a presidential election. But if there is a low turnout, it will negatively impact a Democratic candidate more than a Republican. That fact, Estevez noted, could further level the playing field.
WFTV
