The long-term implications of the GOP's efforts to court Hispanics are significant for both major political parties, analysts and partisan strategists say, given that the Latin American immigrant community has become a powerful swing voting group.

"This all is a clear sign that the Republicans are serious about capturing the Latino vote to make it part of their base and that the Democrats are at risk of losing what used to be perceived by them as a key constituency," said Stacey L. Connaughton, a Rutgers University professor who is writing a book about Hispanic voters.

The Democratic Party long has considered Hispanics part of its own political base. But the Democratic advantage has been whittled down over the years, and some Democrats and Hispanic advocacy groups have warned the party not to take the community's historical support for granted.

Since 1980, the Republican Party has made an effort to bring Hispanics into its fold by targeting advertising and grass-roots outreach to the community, arguing that Hispanic social values matched those of the GOP. But it wasn't until after the 1996 presidential election, when Republican nominee Bob Dole captured just 21 percent of the Hispanic vote, that the GOP really boosted its efforts.

In the 2000 campaign, Bush and his political team made the Hispanic vote a priority, and he claimed 35 percent of their votes. Once in office, Bush tapped Cuban-born Mel Martinez to serve as secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Martinez left the post to run for the Senate from Florida; on Nov. 2, the Republican won the open Senate seat.

In his re-election campaign, Bush built upon his 2000 gains and at least 40 percent of Hispanics backed his candidacy, according to exit polls conducted for The Associated Press and the television networks.

Weeks after securing a second term, Bush put an exclamation point on his campaign-trail rhetoric about his commitment to the Hispanic community: He nominated two accomplished Hispanics to serve in his Cabinet.

The president tapped Alberto Gonzales, a Texas native and the Harvard-educated son of migrant farm workers, to be the next attorney general. Earlier this week, Bush chose Carlos Gutierrez, a Cuban political refugee who rose to the top of Kellogg Co., for commerce secretary.

Taken together, analysts and Republicans say, the gains and appointments make a bold statement.

"All of it says Republicans are fair, open people who treat Latinos as Americans first. That Republicans are the party of opportunity and Republicans are opening the doors to the American dream," said Lionel Sosa, a GOP consultant in Texas who specializes in Hispanic media.

The president, Sosa said, is "leaving a legacy for whoever runs after him" on the Republican ticket.

Time will tell if future party leaders follow Bush's lead and exploit GOP inroads with the Hispanic electorate.

Some Democrats argue that it's do-or-die time: Respond forcefully to the GOP Hispanic grab or face the consequences of letting their advantage with the constituency disappear.

Since the election, some Democrats have complained that Sen. John Kerry's team mistakenly assumed Hispanics were part of the party's base instead of a swing voting bloc. The party has defended its effort, contending that it activated its most far-reaching effort to court Hispanics ever.

Still, Kerry failed to win any states in the Southwest, a heavily Hispanic region. He lost Florida, also home to significant numbers of Hispanics. With Bush solidifying his hold on the South and making gains in the Midwest, the Southwest shapes up as the one region Democrats have the best chance of reclaiming in four years.

"That's where the Democratic future lies, but if we don't start working that area, we're going to be losing an even larger share of the Hispanic community to the Republicans, and rightfully so," said Joe Velasquez, a former White House deputy political director under President Clinton.

Some Democrats paint an even more dire situation, arguing that if the party doesn't make a major play for Hispanics, states that are considered solidly Democratic and have large numbers of Hispanics – California, Illinois and New York – could become vulnerable.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, the newly anointed chairman of the Democratic Governors' Association, said the party needs a different approach.

"We have to appeal to Hispanics on new, more mainstream issues like homeownership, like education and not just the traditional immigration and civil rights issues," he said.

After all, Bush and the Republicans have proven that strategy works.