Democrats aim to turn Texas blue

>> so democrats will soon be spending big to flip a perreniel red state into a blue state . politico reporting battleground texas plans to spend tens of millions to make that happen. they will identify and engage latinos and other democratic leaning voters. and this may be more than just a hope because the president, well, he made a similar prediction while speaking in san antonio last summer.

>> so let me just say -- let me just say this. in the next four months, you guys won't see him because, you know, you aren't considered one of the battleground states , although that's going to be changing soon.

>> changing soon. joining me now, wayne slater, senior political writer for the "dallas morning news." great to have you here. you have covered texas and national politics over the last 20 years. we remind everybody the last time texas went blue was in the carter days. the latino vote overall overwhelm league gone to democratic candidates over the republican ones. so as we drill down to texas specifically and its exploding latino population is that what democrats are seizing on to see this demographic advantage?

>> that is exactly what they are seizing on. that is exactly it, thomas. you see this growing hispanic population. a population disproportionately votes for democrats . and so you now see this new national group recognizing that texas , which is the big enchilada in terms of electoral votes is so important. if it could get a growing number of hispanics out and voting in texas , to turn texas within four years from red to blue, those electoral vote gs with reliably blue states like california and new york and the next president of the united states could very well be a democrat who is halfway there with three states.

>> it's huge. even texas republican senator ted cruz realizes that. the handwriting in the wall saying, not -- in not too many years, texas could switch from being all republican to all democrat. if that happens, no republican will ever again win the white house . the republican party would cease to exist. is their only recourse right now to be out in front of immigration reform and being on the front edge of what they can do there to own that hot button issue?

>> yeah. for republicans, nationally and certainly in texas , be on the right side of the immigration issue and whatever republicans and democrats think of rick perry , he was always more moderate on immigration. people like ted cruz and george p. bush , that's jeb bush 's son who will run for office next year is a kind of republican hispanic candidate who could hold off this move by democrats if it's successful. if not, then you see democrats moving, and i think ultimately it will happen, if not in four years, certainly six or eight years, when democrats will begin to win again big time in texas .

>> you mentioned george p. bush , jeb 's son running. what about the hopes of jeb . when this country thinks of tex athey think of that as bush country. what about jeb 's hopes for 2016 if something like this happens or at least the inroad is laid now so early on.

>> that's only -- that's absolutely good both for the republican party nationally and, frankly, for his son george p. bush from texas . george p.il will run for a statewide office here and set himself up for a possible gubernatorial run in 6 to 8 to 12 years in texas . jeb bush is exactly the kind of republican who might be able to hold off an appeal to this growing hispanic constituency in states like texas and nationally. if the republicans pick someone like jeb bush , he would really be a significant player against possibly a hillary clinton . if hillary clinton , very popular in southern texas , among hispanic voters, very strong among some white voters. if she were the nominee in four years from now for the democratic party , i could see the possibility in november of 2016 that hillary clinton wins texas and wins the white house .

>> wayne slater, senior political writer for the "dallas morning news."