( CNN ) -- In the middle of the massive effort to protect New Yorkers from the effects of Hurricane Irene last month , a colorful moment gave people an amusing opportunity to laugh and joke . It was New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg 's efforts to communicate with Spanish-speaking New Yorkers in their own language . `` My Spanish skills , may continue poco a poco ( little by little ) , '' said the mayor in not-so-fluent Spanish on Aug. 30 when asked by reporters about his repeated attempts to communicate in Spanish . Bloomberg never explained whether his speaking Spanish was out of a genuine concern to effectively communicate with people or a way to score political points with New York 's Hispanic voters â€ ” or both . The New York mayor is not alone . The relatively recent trend of politicians trying to communicate in Spanish also includes President Barack Obama . Back in June , he became the first president in 50 years to make an official visit to Puerto Rico . He started his speech by greeting his supporters in Spanish . `` Buenas tardes ( good afternoon ) '' said the president to hundreds of his supporters who seemed excited to hear Obama rolling the `` R. '' Puerto Ricans have surpassed Cubans as the largest Latino group of voters in Florida , a swing state expected to be highly contested once again in 2012 . Some Republican presidential candidates also seem to be courting Hispanics . On Sept. 2 , Mitt Romney attended a breakfast sponsored by the Republican National Hispanic Assembly in Tampa , Florida . About 100 Hispanic leaders from across the country heard Romney 's speech . The former Massachusetts governor did n't try to roll any Rs , but paid close attention to the issue of how much the economic downturn has hit Latinos . `` Hispanics , as you know , have been hit terribly hard , disproportionately hard with an unemployment rate that is substantially higher than the national figures , '' Romney said . Experts say appealing to the fastest-growing ethnic group in the country is crucial the year before presidential elections . Mark Lopez , associate director at the Pew Hispanic Center , says that `` Latinos have played a growing and important role in the nation 's presidential elections over the last few election cycles . There are now more than 21 million Hispanics who are eligible to vote and Latinos reside in some key states . '' According to the U.S. Census , in the 2008 presidential election , Latinos represented 13 percent of all voters in Colorado , 14 percent in Nevada , 15 percent in Florida , and 38 percent in New Mexico . Those four states will likely be swing states again in 2012 . `` Even the participation rate among Hispanics in presidential elections has been growing [ in those states ] , '' says Lopez . In 2008 , 9.5 million of the nation 's 12 million registered Latino voters went to the polls . Juan Andrade , president of the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute , an organization that tracks Latino voting trends , says he 's expecting a dramatic increase next year . `` Our estimate is that we will probably have at least 12 to 13 million registered to vote in the next presidential election . It could be even higher , '' Andrade says . In 2004 , former President George W. Bush won more than 40 percent of the Latino vote . Four years later , 67 percent of Hispanic voters went for Obama . Experts say anybody getting that kind of support from Latinos next year , whether Democrat or Republican , has a good chance of winning the presidency . `` The Latino vote can prove decisive and we have demonstrated the ability to swing critical states again like we did in 2008 , '' says Andrade . Still , Andrade cautions that it 's still too early to determine what the Latino voter behavior will be in 2012 , and whether the enthusiasm of 2008 is going to be there again . `` Are we going to continue to increase in voter registration and voter turnout as we have in every consecutive presidential election over the last 30 years ? It remains to be seen , '' says Andrade . According to the most recent U.S. Census figures , there are currently 50.5 million people of Hispanic origin in the United States , which represents 16.3 percent of the total population .
Politicians off all stripes are appealing to Hispanic voters . In 2000 , Bush won more than 60 percent of the Latino vote . Two years later , 67 percent of Hispanic voters went for Bush .