the first two panels, moderated by jim and matthew, respectively, will cover the republican primaries and the democratic parties' effort to sustain its advantage with latino voters. we are interested here in both how latinos will affect the outcome of the primaries in the general election, and how the primary campaigns of both parties may influence latino political behavior and allegiances over the longer term. as most of you know, jim is director of the center for congressional and presidential studies. he's also a university professor in the department of government at a.u. his contributions to the study of american politics and institutions are many. i won't try to list them all but call attention to his recently published book, "american gridlock, the sources of character and impact of political -- sources, character, and impact of political polarization." the second panel will be moderated by matthew wright, my colleague in the department of government. he directs or graduate program in political science. conducts research on a wide range of issues in american political behavior,