A group aiming to turn Texas into a “battleground state” in future presidential elections is planning a fundraiser next month.

Good luck with that, folks.

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/battleground-texas-plans-dc-fundraiser-93132.html?hp=l6

Battleground Texas believes the Lone Star State’s changing demographic makeup is going to turn the state from a reliably Republican stronghold into a more competitive state with the influx of Latino voters who normally vote Democratic.

My advice the Battleground Texas brass? Be patient … be very patient.

The upcoming 2014 midterm election suggests – to me, at least – that the Texas Democratic Party has yet to find its footing.

All the pre-election attention so far has been on the Republican side of the aisle. Imagine that. The most recent Democrat to win a statewide office in Texas was John Sharp, who was re-elected state comptroller in … 1994! It’s been all Republican all the time ever since.

The 2014 circumstance doesn’t look any brighter.

Battleground Texas does tout some shining lights among its ranks. San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro perhaps shines the most brightly at the moment. His Honor gave the keynote address at the 2012 Democratic National Convention and hit it out of the park with his stirring story of growing up poor and, along with his identical twin brother, Joaquin – who’s now serving in Congress – obtaining a college education and a law degree.

The Castro brothers are young. They have time to build the coalitions they seek. Many old-line Texas Democrats who are a bit longer in the tooth may not live long enough to see the transformation take place.

I’m hoping to see it happen, if only to witness Texas take its place among those states – such as Ohio, Virginia and Pennsylvania – where presidential candidates every four years fight tooth and nail for votes.

I’ve always maintained that one-party rule – be it Democratic or Republican – breeds arrogance. In Texas, Republicans have run roughshod over the system just as Democrats used to do when they ran the place.

Good luck, Battleground Texas. Just remember to be patient.