LUBBOCK, Texas -
Texas is decidedly red when it comes to politics. The state has voted Republican in every presidential election since 1976, when Jimmy Carter defeated Gerald Ford.
"Right now, given the state of politics in Texas and how strong the Republicans are, there's nothing that Democrats, in the short term, could do to possibly capture the state," political analyst Seth McKee said.
Hillary Clinton thinks otherwise. In an interview with New York magazine, the Democratic front-runner said, "If black and Latino voters come out and vote, we could win Texas."
Marjorie Reynolds, the incoming chair of the Lubbock County Democratic Party, is just as optimistic.
"There are a lot of people who have become more interested, maybe than what they have in the past, and see what the choices are. If we don't get Hillary, look what we might get," Reynolds said. "So I think she does stand a good chance."
McKee, meanwhile, says Hillary has "absolutely no chance" of carrying Texas in November.
"If black and Latino turnout was off the charts, she still wouldn't win Texas," McKee said. "Anglos vote at a much higher rate, especially compared to Latinos. The black percentage of the electorate is too small to register as great an effect as you'd need."
The lone star state may not be competitive now, but demographics are constantly changing. Still, McKee says not to expect Texas to be a battleground in 2020 either."
"If it were to be competitive, it's a long ways from now," McKee said. "I mean, decades."
But Reynolds says she's confident the White House will remain blue, even if Texas remains red.
"I think we will have the first woman president of the United States," Reynolds said.
