The Guadalajara Reporter

Surprising Mexican lessons in Houston: Texas will be a swing state in 2016, doubt that the Prez can keep his promises

A quick flight to Houston last week was packed with complex news, most of it post-electoral, along with some hard words for the way that state and its communities have traditionally dealt with voters.  Austin (the fastest-growing city in the United States, and Texas’ most liberal), plus Dallas and Houston, traditionally rigid Republican enclaves, along with San Antonio, went for President Obama. These are the state’s largest cities. Still, Obama lost Texas, garnering just 41.38 percent to Mitt Romney’s 57.17 percent.

Yet, a lot voters and quite a few local number crunchers see Texas becoming a swing state in 2016.  “We did it!” said the manager of an outdoors/sports outlet whose family has long been resident in Texas.  “A  lot of people were saying that Houston would never go for Obama.  And there were almost no Obama signs or placards around. But we did it.”  He attributed this, as did others, to two things:  A larger than ever Hispanic vote, and a vigorous campaign by students, both in Houston and Austin.  Houston is possibly best known as the home of Rice University, Houston University, Baylor University, Texas Southern and Texas A&M.;  Austin is the home of the University of Texas at Austin, which is nationally known for its Longhorns football team, its constantly bourgeoning academic and research programs, and a student body making up the fifth largest single-campus in the nation and the largest in Texas.

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