CHICAGO -- The Latino vote has become a hot topic in the race for the White House -- and a topic of conversation at the Hispanic Leadership Conference in Chicago.

NBC5's Charlie Wojciechowski reported on Wednesday that while none of the remaining presidential candidates from either party are Latino, but as they make their way through the primary process, all would be courting Latino votes. The phrase "Demographics Is Destiny" was at the heart of the 5th edition of the Almanac of Latino Politics, which was released Wednesday in Chicago.

"We are excited, because our vote, our community, is at the forefront, more so than ever before," said Juan Andrade Jr. of the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute.

The almanac shows the Latino population booming, up 376 percent since 1970, Wojciechowski reported -- all a part of a major shift in America, due in part to immigration. According to a Pew Research Center Study, by 2050, whites, who now make up the majority of the population, will slip to 47 percent. Latinos, who now account for 14 percent of the population, will increase to 29 percent.

"As we are going forward into the 2008 election, what you're going to be seeing, especially if you look at 2006 as a guide, is this transformation -- a movement away from the South, away from the southeastern part of the country, moving toward the upper Midwest and going toward the West, " said Kevin Flynn of the International Bricklayers Union.