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Hispanics are the biggest and fastest-growing ethnic minority group in the U.S., surging by 3.1 million adults from 2000 to 2003, four times the 744,000 increase in non-Hispanic whites, the Census Bureau said. Sixty-two percent of Hispanics voted for Democrat Al Gore in 2000, and polls show them backing the party's nominee, Senator John Kerry, at the same level this year. Kerry and Bush are spending more money than ever on advertisements in Spanish-language radio, television and in newspapers, with the Democrat targeting Hispanic voters as part of a $45 million advertising buy announced last week and Bush, who speaks some Spanish, running commercials in 18 states. Democrats are focusing on raising the minimum wage, expanding health-insurance coverage and increasing public school funding to boost Hispanic voter turnout. That may make the difference in states such as Florida, Arizona and Nevada, among the 18 states Bush won or lost four years ago by less than 7 percentage points. [more

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