MIAMI -- Florida's Democrats are still having a difficult time attracting Hispanic candidates to run for Congress and the Legislature.
    
Out of 188 congressional and legislative races, only about eight Hispanics are running as Democrats in Tuesday's primary even though the Latino population is growing.  The growth is particularly strong among Puerto Ricans, who tend to support Democrats much more than Cuban-Americans do.
    
State party officials say they concentrate on getting the best candidates possible without regard to race.
    
But critics say party officials aren't doing enough to recruit and encourage Hispanics to run for office. For example, the only Hispanic speaker at a recent Florida Democratic dinner was the mayor of Los Angeles. No Hispanic from Florida spoke.

Associated Press