As he barnstormed south Texas by bus last week, George P. Bush wasn’t just selling himself as a Republican candidate for statewide office, but pitching fellow Hispanics—his mother was born in Mexico—on why they should consider voting for the Grand Old Party.
Speaking before hundreds of residents in a school auditorium here on the Mexican border, the son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and nephew of former President George W. Bush mixed English and Spanish as he urged Hispanics to vote for him and, more broadly, to participate in politics.
“We can’t complain as a community unless we register to vote,” said Mr. Bush, 37 years old, who is running for Texas land commissioner in next month’s primary, his first step toward joining his family’s political dynasty.
Although the Hispanic vote is unlikely to play a major role in this year’s Texas elections, it is becoming a long-term focus for both Republicans and Democrats in the Lone Star State, and Mr. Bush is attempting to carve out a role as an ethnic emissary within his state party.
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