Amid growing suggestions that his state could be competitive in presidential elections sooner rather than later, Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) said in a story published online Saturday that he doesn’t think Republicans have reason to sweat.
Perry said that the University of Texas will abandon its iconic burnt orange colors in favor of the maroon and white color scheme of rival Texas A&M — Perry’s alma mater — before the Lone Star State becomes a battleground. The 2012 GOP presidential candidate called the idea of Texas going blue “the biggest pipedream I have ever heard.”
“The University of Texas will change its colors to maroon and white before Texas goes purple, much less blue,” Perry said while in Washington, D.C. for the National Governors Association winter summit, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The chairman of the Texas Republican Party acknowledged last week that Hillary Clinton could make Democrats more competitive there in 2016. A poll of Texas voters released in January showed Clinton basically tied with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), and beating Perry comfortably, in hypothetical 2016 matchups.
