Sharron Angle, the Republican candidate for Senate in Nevada, appears in a video to have offered a strange assessment of a group of Hispanic students at a meeting last week.

Race Profile The Nevada Senate Race A high-profile race that Republicans once viewed with great confidence is proving tougher than many had imagined.

The video, posted by the Nevada journalist Jon Ralston, shows Ms. Angle saying that “some of you look a little more Asian to me” at a meeting of the Hispanic Student Union at Rancho High School outside Las Vegas.

The tape, apparently made by a student, shows many in the audience murmuring in surprise as Ms. Angle makes the remark, which began with a comment about the need for “a sovereign nation.”

“So that’s what we want is a secure and sovereign nation and, you know, I don’t know that all of you are Latino. Some of you look a little more Asian to me. I don’t know that,” Ms. Angle said. “What we know, what we know about ourselves is that we are a melting pot in this country. My grandchildren are evidence of that. I’m evidence of that. I’ve been called the first Asian legislator in our Nevada State Assembly.”

Mr. Ralston, on his blog, noted that he had “no idea what she is talking about.” Ms. Angle is white. A spokesperson for the Angle campaign could not be reached for comment.