BERNALILLO, N.M. — Rick Sepulveda can't make up his mind between Barack Obama and John McCain. The 49-year-old beer salesman thinks the Democrat would do a better job with the economy, but he can't stomach Obama's support for abortion, an affront to his faith.
"I'm pro-life. That's a big issue for me," Sepulveda said recently, after taking an order at the T&T Supermart here, 18 miles north of Albuquerque. But, he added, "McCain is another Bush."
Undecided Latino voters, particularly socially conservative ones like Sepulveda, could play the pivotal role in deciding who wins the five electoral votes in the Land of Enchantment, a state known for razor-thin margins in presidential races. Former Vice President Al Gore won by 365 votes in 2000; President Bush by 5,988 in 2004.
In New Mexico, Obama led McCain in recent polls and has a substantial lead among Latinos. But nearly 1 in 5 Latino voters, who make up almost a third of the state's electorate, remain undecided, double the rate for white voters.
Many of these voters are torn: drawn to Republicans by their Roman Catholic faith, but to Democrats by their concerns about the economy.
"A lot of Hispanics in New Mexico are Catholic and . . . wrestle with the values and platform and campaign positions of candidates on both sides," said J.D. Bullington, a longtime Republican lobbyist who registered as a Democrat this year. "That's the reason why there's a large number of undecideds in the Hispanic community. I think they take their time and listen carefully and balance it all out, all the way up to the election."
This year, with the economy overshadowing nearly every other issue, it's unclear how much weight voters will give values issues, such as abortion and gay marriage. But the state, while tilting toward Obama, is still in play, and both campaigns are targeting it.
In the week that ended Oct. 4, McCain spent $144,000 on advertising in New Mexico, and Obama spent $185,000. That's a tiny fraction of what they are spending in other battleground states, but airtime is cheaper in Albuquerque, and both have a steady presence on television. Both are airing Spanish-language ads that blame the other for the failure to reform immigration laws.
The Democratic nominee has 40 field offices around the state, from six in Albuquerque to a single storefront in the tiny southern village of Hatch.
