Latinos backed Obama by a 2-to-1 margin on election day and could be the biggest force behind a longterm, center-left political realignment.

“The heavily Hispanic states of the Southwest, the ‘Cactus Corner,’ could be part of a winning strategy in 2008.” Well, sí, se puede.

Look at these numbers that were provided to us by the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute, which examined the 2008 Latino vote in thirteen key states. USHLI concluded that 67 percent of Latinos voted for Barack Obama, and only 31 percent for John McCain — more than a 2-to-1 difference nationwide.

Seventy-four percent of Latinos voted for Obama in California, 65 percent in Virginia and 72 percent in Illinois. Latinos provided the winning margin in Indiana, with 77 percent, and 63 percent voted Obama in Texas, a very positive trend for the future in that largest of red states.

In the key swing states of the Southwest, all heavily Latino, Obama racked up hefty numbers: 76 percent in Nevada, 73 percent in Colorado, 69 percent in New Mexico and 56 percent even in McCain’s home state of Arizona.