One soccer goal: recruiting Democrats - Nevada's party forms a team to pitch its politics to Latino voters.

Meet Los Democratas.

Sponsored by the Nevada Democratic Party and co-captained by Kihuen -- a 27-year-old former standout youth player who once harbored professional ambitions -- Los Democratas includes some of the top amateur soccer players in Las Vegas. The plan: to dominate the Azteca soccer league, the elite division of the city's 10,000-player Ligas Unidas.

But the real goal is to market, and party officials here are hoping Latino soccer fans will forge a connection not only with a soccer team but with a political agenda.

It's a rapidly expanding pool of potential voters. An influx of Latinos over the last 15 years has helped make Las Vegas one of the fastest-growing regions in the country; they account for about 25% of the state's residents. But for two key demographic reasons -- age and citizenship status -- Latinos account for 12.5% of Nevada's eligible voters, according to a Pew Hispanic Center analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau's 2005 American Community Survey.

Yet that percentage is significant: The state has only 137 more "active" Republican voters than Democratic voters, according to a March tally by the Nevada secretary of state's office. And with Latino voters registered at a rate that lags behind that of the electorate in general, state Democrats hope a soccer team flying the party colors will help the party make inroads -- particularly with new citizens and people just reaching voting age.

"We want the community to hear the name of the party," said Andres Ramirez, the Democrats' state outreach director. "It's branding. We want to brand the party name."

Success on the field -- and developing a reputation for fair and competitive play -- could help bolster the party's image among Latino fans, said Marie Lena Tupot, research director for ScenarioDNA Inc., a New York firm that specializes in branding.

"It's not whether they win or lose. The Democrats have more to prove in showing how they care about the sport and ultimately the community," she said. "It's an opportunity for them to take a leadership role. Sports are unpredictable. The Democrats need to demonstrate how they can ride its unpredictable nature."