McCain unveils Spanish radio ad in N.M., Nevada

Republican presidential candidate John McCain launched a new Spanish-language radio ad in New Mexico and Nevada today as he tries to cut into Democratic candidate Barack Obama’s support among Hispanics.

The ad features McCain’s roommate at the Naval academy, a Hispanic who says McCain “shares our same conservative values and faith in God.”

“My roommate at the U.S. Naval Academy is running for president of the United States, and he wants what is best for the Hispanic community, too,” Frank Gamboa says in Spanish in the ad. “His name is John McCain and he has stood for our community even in the most difficult of times.”

Gamboa goes on to say that McCain “knows that family is the focal part of our lives and that we value hard work” and “has earned the trust of Latinos and has a history of supporting us.”

“This election, it seems to me that the other candidate has just discovered the importance of the Hispanic vote,” Gamboa says. “So when it comes to our values and understanding Latinos this election, I know for John it’s not political; it comes from the heart.”

You can listen to the ad — in Spanish — by clicking here. It comes as a new poll shows Obama leading McCain by 30 points among Hispanics — a gap that has remained fairly consistent since March.

The Gallup poll of 1,123 Hispanic registered voters was conducted in June and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.