Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are two very strong contenders in what will be probably one of the most historical presidential races in our country’s history. The two candidates possess very different qualities, explaining why the race to gain the Democratic nomination is so heated. At this point, anything could help either of the candidates pull forward in the race — meaning Bill Richardson’s endorsement of Obama could give him enough momentum to beat out Clinton.

Richardson, the Democratic governor of New Mexico and former presidential candidate, has some influence despite the fact he failed to garner enough support to make it past the earlier Democratic primaries. Since he is a governor, he is a superdelegate, but this distinction pales in comparison to the fact that Richardson is a prominent Hispanic official.

Even though race should not be an issue in the election, Richardson’s endorsement could sway his fellow Hispanics to support Obama. Hispanics, unlike other key minority groups, do not exhibit an overwhelming tendency to vote for a certain party. According to The Washington Post, Al Gore gained support of 65 percent of Hispanics in the 2000 election, but Kerry failed to win a large Hispanic backing, capturing only 55 percent of Hispanic votes in the 2004 election.

The Democrats’ failure to completely win over Hispanic voters stems largely from the fact that most Hispanic people are strict adherents to Catholicism, meaning many of them are more conservative than African-Americans, who almost always support Democratic candidates. Thus, Hispanics are more likely to find Democrats’ positions on certain issues, such as abortion and gay marriage, unappealing.

If the Democrats want to win in November, they must have strong support from the Hispanic community. According to the Pew Hispanic Center, Hispanics represent the largest and fastest-growing minority in the United States, and they will make up about 15 percent of the population in 2008. While Hispanic voters will probably only account for about nine percent of the vote in the next election, that small, seemingly insignificant percentage will probably decide who will be our next leader.

In particular, the Hispanic vote is important in southwestern states like New Mexico, Arizona and Texas, where Hispanics make up either a plurality or a majority of the population. The Democrats need to win the electoral votes from these states if they wish to counteract the Southern states’ tendency to vote Republican, and winning a large majority of the Hispanic vote could help the Democrats make headway in states that are not California and not located in the Northeast.

Though obviously Richardson’s support of either Democratic candidate would help the Democrats as a whole gain more votes, Richardson’s support of Obama is particularly important when viewed in a social context. Historically, African-Americans and Hispanics aren’t big fans of one another; gang violence between the two groups is rampant in big cities like Los Angeles. Thus, Richardson’s endorsement of Obama is an important gesture because it shows he and his fellow Hispanics may be willing to put an end to the hate that exists between the two minority groups.

Richardson’s decision to endorse Obama can only help his campaign, but only time will tell if the New Mexican governor’s opinion will actually matter in the scheme of things.