ONLY IN AMERICA – AT 9:25 A.M. ET:  Two Hispanics became major national figures last night, and we may well see one or both of them on national tickets.

In Florida, there was enormous press interest in one man – Marco Rubio, the newly elected Republican senator, and the son of Cuban immigrants.  Rubio got nearly 50% of the vote in a three-man race, a rare statistical achievement.  When he's interviewed the words "future national candidate" come to mind.  He's articulate, informed, and positive.  Although he has a clear conservative point of view, he, like Reagan, advances his position with a gentle touch.  Watch him.  All those cameras weren't there for nothing.

And in New Mexico, Susana Martinez became the first latina to be elected governor of an American state.  A lawyer and prosecutor, a highly educated woman, she's received far less publicity than she's deserved.  But watch her.  If the news networks were smart – an interesting proposition – they'd get her for interviews. 

So, the two most prominent Hispanic political figures in America this morning are Republicans.  Somehow, that wasn't in the Democratic Party script.  And what does it portend for the future?  That parties must not take ethnic groups for granted.  They eventually figure it out.

November 3, 2010