George Will is a conservative columnist/pundit who — no surprise here — detests Donald J. Trump, the Republican Party’s presidential nominee.
He has written an essay, moreover, that makes an intriguing suggestion. It is that Trump’s presidential candidacy just might turn one of the nation’s most Republican-leaning states into something far less so.
I refer to Texas.
My own sense is that Democratic nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton has a long way to go just yet in making Texas truly competitive in this election.
Will, though, suggests that the time is closer than some of us believe.
He notes that Dallas County has gone from solidly Republican to solidly Democratic. He reminds us that Hispanics and Asians are two fast-growing minorities. He speaks as well about how Texas is mirroring the nation’s turn toward a majority-minority population.
All of that plays into Clinton’s push to become president.
Texas, though, hasn’t elected a Democrat to any statewide office since 1994. Will says that’s the longest statewide GOP winning streak in the nation.
My own sense is that if Texas becomes moderately competitive in the Clinton vs. Trump contest — meaning if Clinton can close to within, say, 5 or 6 percentage of Trump — then we’re going to see a serious blowout in the making.
If she somehow manages to win the state’s 38 electoral votes — and that can happen only if Latinos and African-Americans turn out in record numbers — then the blowout can be of historic proportions.
Will it happen in Texas?
Maybe soon. Just not right now.