While the Latino vote as a whole may be unpredictable, the Republican Party has traditionally had a solid hold on the Cuban-American vote. Now there are signs that hold may be slipping, according to NPR. In south Florida, Democrats are seriously challenging three GOP Cuban-American congressional incumbents. The biggest battle is being fought in the 21st Congressional District, where eight-term incumbent Republican Lincoln Diaz-Balart is up against Democrat Raul Martinez, mayor of Hialeah, which has a vibrant Cuban-American community.

Historically, the GOP hold on Cuban Americans is based on the party's animosity toward Fidel Castro. From his attempt to prevent 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez from being sent back to Cuba to his support for the Cuban trade embargo, Diaz-Balart has a strong reputation for being anti-Castro. But like the rest of the country, Cuban Americans are also concerned with the economy and gas prices, possibly giving Democrats an edge. For the first time in years, the Democratic Party has higher numbers of registered Latinos than Republicans do in Florida. Martinez's support of lifting the restrictions on travel and remittances to Cuba, which were put in place by the Bush administration in 2004, has opened the eyes of Cuban Americans to the possibility of voting Democratic. What could this mean for Obama and McCain on the road to Election Day?

Read and listen to the full NPR story here.