If this was the year 2006, the candidates vying in next week’s GOP Florida Primary would have been releasing a lot more ads in Spanish, practicing their “Sí se puede” cries and brushing up on the differences between Cuban-Americans and Puerto Ricans — if this were 2006 when more Latinos in the state were registered Republicans.

According to a new factsheet released by the Pew Hispanic Center titled, Latinos in the 2012 Election: Florida, six years ago more Latinos claimed to be Republican. Ever since then, it’s been a downward spiral.

Today, more Florida Latino voters are registered Democrats, creating the widest party gap between registered Latino voters than at any time since 2006. It’s a gap that the GOP needs to take seriously.

Nationally, Florida has the third-largest Hispanic eligible-voter population. In a state where Latino immigrants arrive via water, air and land, rhetoric about harsh immigration enforcement isn’t accepted quietly, inside or outside the voting booth.

It’s especially true in a state like Florida where Latino eligible voters are less likely to be native-born citizens (57%) compared to Latino eligible voters nationwide (75%).

Almost half of Latinos in Florida are eligible to vote and what makes Florida so unique is the diversity of Latino voters that exist within the state.

Read the full story at Latina Lista