Shift in Politics in Texas?

An article in USA Today reports a political shift in Texas.

Dallas county, which Bush won by 9600 votes in 2004, is turning more purple. In 2006, every statewide election in the county went Democrat.

Harris county, which includes Houston, will be watched very closely in November. The paper claims that this area could show what post-Bush Texas politics could look like.

Urban flight, a growing minority population and an influx of Katrina Democrats from Louisiana have contributed to the shifting mood in urban centers such as Dallas, Republican strategist Chris Turner says.

Those demographic shifts don't readily apply to Harris County, he says. Ike's destruction in the coastal areas may have hurt the Democrats because it was hard for candidates to reach those areas, he says.

Republicans don't need to worry about Texas, however. Turner says there has been a major resurgence in the Republican party since the announcement of Sarah Palin as vice presidential nominee.