Response to: "Could Texas be a battleground state?"

I recently read an article from a political blog from CNN contemplating whether or not if Texas could possibly be a battleground state for both Congressional and Senate elections in 2014 and the Presidential election in 2016. Though Texas does have a diverse population, I think I can honestly say that this is one of the most absurd things I have read in a long time.

My home state is Massachusetts (yea...I know) so this is similar to my situation. Saying that Texas could be a battleground state in the near future is like saying that Massachusetts would be likely to vote Republican. That just won't happen. I live in western Massachusetts which is probably the most liberal region of the state. Now I know if you go into the more central regions of Massachusetts you might get a few Republicans and Libertarians here and there, but very very few in my district. But just because there are a few conservatives somewhere in the state does not mean that Massachusetts will vote Republican.

The same could be applied to Texas. In Texas, there is a fairly large minority (mainly Hispanic) population due to the fact that Texas is right on the boarder of Mexico. Those are the target citizens that the Democratic Party of Texas would need to get out to the polls. But Texas is known for being probably the most conservative state in the country. Conservatives in such large numbers will trump Democratic voters in small numbers all day long. As the article states, demographics aren't everything and it is the people who participate. So we won't get any clear cut definite proof from that information, but we all could certainly make highly educated guesses.

Using the author's own facts: "In 2012, GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney won the state 57% to 41% by a margin of nearly 1.3 million votes. President Barack Obama carried only 26 of the state's 254 counties". Those numbers won't change in such a short time, especially with all the "progress" that our president has been making giving the Democratic Party a bad reputation. The only way I could see Texas ever voting Democrat is if a Texas native made a run for President. Even that would be a long shot especially considering that Mitt Romney, a Republican, lost in his home state of Massachusetts this year.

In the article from a blogger on CNN, I don't see much of a real plan explained on trying to turn Texas into a possible battleground state. Instead, the author is just saying: It might happen if all the right things fall into place. But in the end, it is really up to the population and how politics is viewed in their eyes.