WASHINGTON – President Bush parlayed an aggressive outreach effort and campaign themes of moral values and fighting terrorism into increased support from Hispanics to help him win re-election.

Mr. Bush’s gains thwarted Democratic Senator Kerry’s hopes that Hispanic growth in Western states could offset political losses in the Midwest and South. It was the second election where Mr. Bush was able to cut into the Democrats’ advantage among Latinos.

Analysts and Hispanic groups viewed that development and the election of two Latinos to the Senate as signs of the growing political clout enjoyed by one of the nation’s fastest growing voting blocs.

“You cannot take a look at the Hispanic vote monolithically,” said Maria Cardona, senior vice president of the New Democrat Network, a centrist Democratic group that spent about $6 million in Latino-targeted advertising for Mr. Kerry. “The bottom line is Hispanics are increasingly one of the most important swing vote groups in American politics today.”

Exit polls conducted for the Associated Press and television networks found Bush winning 44% of the Hispanic vote, up from 35% in 2000. Mr. Kerry won 53%, down from 62 percent four years ago for Democrat Al Gore.

One-third of Hispanics said they were born-again Christians and nearly 20 percent listed moral values as their top issue, suggesting they have more in common with Republicans than Democrats in some areas. They supported Bush by more than a 3-to-1 margin.

Hispanics placed more weight on moral issues than in the past, said University of New Mexico political scientist Chris Garcia. “I’m not saying that the Democrats saw the Latino vote for granted…but this is a major lesson,” Mr. Garcia said.