Ronald Reagan once famously proclaimed that Latinos "are Republicans, they just don't know it yet." Well, Ann Coulter -- lawyer, conservative social and political commentator and self-described polemicist -- disagrees with that statement, having once stated that it's a waste of time for the GOP to woo Latino voters because they are "lazy, not religious, dependent on government, socially progressive, and poor." The narrow-minded spectator cited statistics gathered by known libertarian Charles Murray, who insisted that the GOP couldn't "count on tapping latent Latino conservatism."

Murray's findings insisted that Latinos are not looking to support republicans despite inherent conservative interests. He looked at a 30-year history of Latinos consistently supporting liberal candidates at national and state level, affirmed in 2012, when 71 percent of Latinos voted for President Obama, helping to secure his second term. Murray stated that social progressiveness is yet another reason why Hispanics are unlikely to subscribe to the conservative ideals. According to Coulter, Latinos behave contrary to stereotypes, because they are "less likely to be married, less likely to go to church, more supportive of gay marriage and less likely to call themselves "conservative" than other Americans." She went on to say that Hispanics work about the same as everyone else -- not harder -- and Hispanic women work even less. Murray suggested that white people have only met hardworking "model American" Latino workers, but there is a dormant class of lazier Latinos.

Pew Hispanic Center countered Murray's statistics, revealing that 77 percent of Latinos 16 years old and older are participants in the workforce, compared to 71 percent of whites. Also, being a stay-at-home mother and having an inability to find a job are reasons why Latinas lag behind the national workforce involvement by two percent. In various studies, Latinos have indicated the importance of work ethic and self-reliance, and 44 percent are church-goers (compared to 40 percent of whites).

Data from all sides reveal that Latinos are not particularly socially conservative, but many believe that the Republican Party should shift its hard position on topics such as abortion and gay marriage. Also, immigration reform and access to health care are important to Latinos, not the prevalent "English-only," anti-immigrant and anti-Latino sentiment that compels the Republican Party.

Former Florida State Rep. Ana Rivas Logan recently left the GOP over issues regarding immigration reform, and she publicly ripped up her Republican voter registration card. Logan said that the Republican party of today is not the party of her parents, but one that has been taken hostage by extremist. It's a party that "attacks women and minorities."

Coulter made her statement during December of 2012. Fast forward a little over a year later, and it's apparent that the GOP hasn't lost interest in the Latino vote, though in some areas Republicans aren't quite as vulnerable to the Latino vote. More than 60 percent of House GOP members represent congressional districts where Hispanics make up less than one tenth of the population. And, in areas with more than 10 percent of Latino population, 80 percent of those Republicans have no Democratic opposition. But, in areas where there is opposition and campaigning to Latinos is important, Republicans have positioned themselves to be attractive to the Hispanic population.

Jeff Denham, David Valado, Galry Miller and Mario Diaz-Balart are just an example of Republicans who embraced immigrant-friendly policies, and are congressmen in districts that have a Latino population of 40 percent or more. Republican Party members have done a great deal to attract the Latino vote: co-sponsoring a Democrat-backed bill that would open a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented individuals; advocating for the creation of a path to legalization; and granting work permits to those who have been stateside are for years.

"If it's a tight enough race and every vote counts, Latinos could be the winning margin [in Kline's election]," said Lawrence Jacobs, a political analyst at the University of Minnesota. "You question whether Kline even really wants to do this anymore when people back in your district are unhappy with you [over either position]."

Republican House members who have made promises to their constituents in Hispanic-heavy districts may leave Latino voters upset, as their votes don't affect the vast majority of House Republican races. Nearly 80 percent of House Republicans represent areas that have less than 16.9 percent Latinos, on average. However, as the number of Latino voters increase with every year, and Hispanics move into new districts, there will a need to oblige.