Puerto Ricans essential to Florida’s presidential vote

PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. President Barack Obama has a problem with Florida's important Puerto Rican voters, The Associated Press reported.

It has little to do with the immigration and deportation issues that dominate so much of the national debate involving Hispanic voters.

Florida's two biggest Hispanic groups, Puerto Ricans and Cuban Americans, have legal statuses not enjoyed by immigrants from other Latin American countries.

This makes illegal immigration a tangential issue for them.

Their chief concerns center on Florida's struggling economy. And Florida's high unemployment and foreclosure rates have hit Puerto Ricans hard.

That's a dilemma for Obama. He's counting on big Puerto Rican support to help offset Cuban American precincts, where Republican Mitt Romney expects to do well. Some analysts say he may fall short.