Heard an interesting anecdote this morning. It goes something like this:

According to an out-of-town Texas journalist who was visiting Amarillo, the fastest-growing demographic group in the Texas Panhandle happens to be Latinos, the very folks who tend to vote Democratic. This journalist (who shall remain unidentified because he doesn’t know I’m writing about our conversation) said he heard it from a former senior member of the Texas House of Representatives.

What does this mean? It means that over time this staunchly Republican region is slated for some major changes. They won’t occur during the next election cycle, or even one or two after that. It’ll take some time because that particular demographic doesn’t vote in huge numbers the way, say, Anglo voters do.

The change that’s occurring here, as told to me, mirrors what’s happening in many other areas of the state. It’s also the kind of change that excited up-and-coming Democrats who are beginning to see a glimmer of hope that they make Texas a competitive two-party state.

I’m not yet holding my breath for that to occur. The next election cycle, in 2014, is likely to produce another Republican sweep of statewide offices. I’ll be watching, though, for the percentages rolled up by the winning GOP candidates and will look for any narrowing of the gap.

If Democrats can become competitive in races they used to surrender to Republicans, then I could become a believer in the impending demographic change in Texas.

When that change occurs, a lot of die-hard Panhandle Republicans are certain to suffer from some serious apoplexy.