Expanding outreach to Hispanic voters, Whitman opens campaign office in heart of Latino O.C

This is the seond campaign office Whitman has opened in Hispanic strongholds.

Meg Whitman, trying to win over the potentially make-or-break Latino vote in her bid for governor, is preparing to open a campaign office here in the heart of Spanish-speaking Orange County.

Whitman's campaign has leased an empty storefront in Santa Ana's Fourth Street shopping district, long a central crossroads for the county's Latino immigrants. The store's windows, locked behind a padlocked gate, are already papered over with Whitman campaign posters in English and Spanish.

Campaign spokeswoman Sarah Pompei confirmed that Whitman is opening an office in Santa Ana and said that it will "help our get-out-the-vote efforts for Meg and the entire Republican ticket." The Whitman campaign has had an office open in Costa Mesa since the primary elections earlier this year.

Pompei did not respond to e-mails and phone calls seeking more details.

The Whitman campaign rented the empty storefront on Fourth Street – a former Western-wear shop – about two months ago, said Joe Elias, who owns the building with a group of investors. The lease, he said, expires at the end of the campaign.

Whitman has worked hard to woo Latino voters since the Republican primary race, when her opponent, Steve Poizner, pulled her into a debate over illegal immigration. She has run Spanish-language campaign ads since then and touted her opposition to Arizona's anti-illegal immigration law.

The Whitman campaign opened an office in East LA on August 4th.