George P. Bush, the newest generation of Bush family candidates, has his eye on the Texas land commissioner post. The GOP establishment has its eye on him. Bush, whose mother Columbia is from Mexico, is being prepped to join Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican whose father was born in Cuba, in leading outreach efforts with Hispanics. Political analysts say Bush is the man for the job in a state which was 38 percent Hispanic in 2010 and could be as much as 50 percent by 2040. Here's five things to know about him.
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1. What's the Texas land commissioner do?
That post manages the state's public lands, beaches, natural resources, and the Alamo - the historic fort where in 1836, Texas settlers fought the Mexican Army in San Antonio. It would be an especially significant position for the Bush family, which made part of its fortune off of oil and whose political sons have always heavily favored the industry in its policies: the land commissioner's responsibilities include authorizing the exploration and exploitation of public lands for gas and oil production, mining and grazing as well as monitoring the environmental quality of public lands and waters. Royalties on the resources extracted from Texas lands generate hundreds of millions of dollars for the state annually.
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George P. has raised $3.3 million since November in his bid for the position. As of yet, he's running uncontested.
2. He thinks the GOP has to do more to court Hispanic voters than just running bilingual candidates.
"I've been asked whether knowing Spanish and being Hispanic myself is a positive in getting Hispanic voters and I don't believe it is," he told the Associated Press. "I think Hispanics look for a friend, they look for someone who understands, whose willing to relate, to hear their issues and welcome them to the party and to their campaigns. That's what we're doing."
3. He pushes for more tours of the US-Mexico border among Republicans in Texas, which tend to be the most heavily Latino counties.
On Friday, he was on a tour of the Rio Grande Valley, where he told the Brownsville Herald that "A big part of running for office is understanding the different regions in the state." He added, "There are 254 counties that together make this a great state. And the Valley is no exception."
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The four counties which make up the Rio Grande Valley are all over 85 percent Hispanic, with one, Starr County, reaching up into the upper nineties.
4. He is every bit the political scion.
He says his first memory is watching George H.W. Bush, his grandfather, announce his candidacy for president for the first time in 1979. At age 12, he addressed the Republican National Convention, which had decided to nominate his grandfather for president in 1988.
George P. is the co-founder of Hispanic Republicans of Texas political action committee, and is active in a number of other such committees in the state. He went to Rice University and studied law at the University of Texas' Austin campus before serving an eight-month stint in Afghanistan with US Naval Intelligence. And he has worked on his uncle George W. Bush's presidential campaign.
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