With the 2010 elections successfully in the rearview mirror, the Republican Party, like everyone else, is setting its sights on 2012. Experts say success in 2012 for any party will include a healthy harvesting of the Hispanic vote.

"I think any candidate wanting to run for president in 2012 had better start paying attention to how to improve the numbers for Hispanic people," said Ana Navarro, former co-chair for McCain's National Hispanic Advisory Council. "Because if not, we'll be permanently shut out of Pennsylvania Avenue and watching the White House form the exterior gate."

The day before polls closed in November, the American Action Network announced the GOP's latest major Hispanic outreach project. The Hispanic Leadership Network, co-chaired by former Gov. Jeb Bush and former Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, will have its first official conference in January. Their stated mission on a simple website is to "engage center-right members of the Hispanic community and encourage active participation in our democracy."

It also states it is "critically important for center-right leaders to hear and understand their concerns." 

But Latinos may be getting mixed messages from the GOP. Throughout much of the 2010 campaign season, some Latino voters expressed dissatisfaction with the tough-on-illegal-immigration rhetoric coming from the mouths of leading Republican candidates like Rick Scott and Bill McCollum. Some felt calls to support an Arizona-style immigration policy, or to reject the DREAM Act, were attacks on their communities.

Navarro, who currently serves as an adviser for the Hispanic Leadership Network, says what was emphasized by much of the media over the last few months gave an inaccurate picture of Hispanic concerns and Republican priorities.

"A very vocal minority of Republicans have said some hurtful things," said Navarro. "But they do not represent the entire party. That's why it's important to have strong voices like Jeb Bush or Norm Coleman [CEO of the American Action Network] to tell Hispanics that they are appreciated, they are welcome and they are part of the Republican family."

Despite his support for an Arizona-style immigration law, Gov.-elect Rick Scott was still able to gain favor among Hispanic voters. A Scott spokesman, Brian Burgess, cited exit polls that showed Scott breaking 50 percent among Latino voters.

"It doesn't matter what demographic you belong to," said Burgess, "Everybody wants jobs and that's where the rubber meets the road."

Navarro expanded on that sentiment, saying Hispanics care about a plethora of issues.

"We're not a one-trick pony," she said. "There are [many] more issues that are of great interest to Hispanics, including national security, foreign policy, trade, educational and social values."

Alex Burgos, a spokesperson for Marco Rubio, said the outreach to the Hispanic community is "essential for the party, but it's also very natural given the GOP's support of policies that benefit the Hispanic community.

"It's also very natural, with the emergence of more Hispanic entrepreneurs, to see them more concerned with fiscal opportunities and joining the ranks of Republicans.

"From job creation to education reform, protecting and preserving the free-enterprise system allows people from all backgrounds to advance in this country," said Burgos.

Sen.-elect Marco Rubio, who campaigned on his parents' immigration story and his opportunity to live the American Dream, has been a firm opponent of the DREAM Act. While he argues it provides broad-based amnesty, Navarro, a strong Latino voice within the same party, contends that the children who would benefit from the bill are not responsible for the acts of their parents.