'Ugly Betty' star backs Clinton in bid to attract key Hispanic vote

America Ferrera, the star of the show Ugly Betty, has signed up with the Hillary Clinton campaign, generating instant appeal among Hispanic voters – a key swing vote in the 2008 US presidential race.

Leading Democratic candidates are chasing Spanish-speaking voters as never before, following a decision to bring forward the primaries and caucuses in states with large Hispanic constituencies. This week, the candidates are putting themselves before Hispanic audiences in Nevada, New York and California at every opportunity.

In Ugly Betty Ms Ferrera, plays Betty Suarez, the supposedly hideous daughter of Mexican immigrants who gets a job on a fashion magazine. The show's clever take on how a working-class girl from the Bronx brings dignity to the hard-knocks world of fashion has been a huge success attracting 16 million viewers a night. "This election is too important to stand on the sidelines, especially for my generation," said Ms Ferrera, announcing her role. "I believe that Hillary Clinton can turn this country around."

Not to be outdone, Barack Obama has been promoting his multicultural background before Nevada's voters, chanting "Sí, se puede; sí, se puede; sí, se puede!" or, "Yes, we can!" before rallies across the state.

Mr Obama has won the backing of the potentially important culinary workers' union of Nevada, the 60,000 or so dishwashers and chambermaids who keep Las Vegas ticking over.

Most of America's 18 million Hispanic voters live in nine of the 22 states holding contests in the coming weeks. Most will also vote Democrat because Hispanics have been turned off by Republicans exploiting popular unhappiness about America's increasingly Latino profile.

A debate about what to do with the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the country has turned increasingly bitter. Conservative Republicans want to deport them all while while Democrats want to grant citizenship and seal the borders. The tone of the debate has made Hispanic voters more politically attuned than ever before and Mrs Clinton has been flying around Nevada on a "Juntos con Hillary, Una Vida Mejor" tour, or "Together With Hillary, a Better Life".

She has attacked plans to deport undocumented immigrants as a logistical impossibility. It would take $200bn (£100bn) and a require the equivalent of 200,000 buses stretching 1,700 miles to make the US-Mexico border impassable, she said. "I think Americans would put up with that for a nanosecond. Let's get real here. That will never happen," said Mrs Clinton.

In Nevada, Mr Obama has been saying he transcends the bitterness that often exists between blacks and Spanish voters. "My history is excellent with Latino supporters back in Illinois, because they knew my record," he said, "Nationally, people don't know that record quite as well. So it's very important for me to communicate that."

Mr Obama is hoping Bill Richardson, who ended his campaign to become the first Hispanic president, will repeat a gesture of support he made, when it became clear he would not win in Iowa.

Live covergae from Michigan at http://blogs.independent.co.uk/the_campaign_trailers/