AUSTIN, Tex.--The next presidential election may be more than two years away, but things are already getting awkward in the Lone Star State, where at least four potential Republican contenders have deep roots.
Even in Texas, there may not be room enough for all of them -- as became apparent during a three-day political conference over the weekend, sponsored by the Texas Tribune.
At the opening session on Friday night, George P. Bush -- a rising GOP star considered a shoo-in to win his first elective office this fall as state land commissioner -- was asked whether he would endorse his own father, should former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush decide to make a bid.
Easy question, right?
Having demurred that "I'm staying out of that race," the younger Bush said of his dad: "I think folks know that I love him."
Yes, the Bushes are a famously close-knit clan. But family dynamics are more than a little tricky these days for Texas Republicans.
The party's dominance is such that no Democrat has won statewide office in 20 years, and that streak is expected to continue this fall. Within the Republican base, however, there are strains, which are likely to intensify as 2016 approaches.
The state's current governor, Rick Perry, and its junior senator, Ted Cruz, are already making regular trips to the early primary and caucus states. So is Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, a native Texan whose father spent decades as a Houston-area congressman.
And of course, the Bush name -- and network -- is the gold standard of Texas politics. It has produced two presidents, one of whom was also a governor.
"We may be in the middle of a drought here, but it sure hasn't dried up ego and ambition," said John Weaver, a veteran GOP strategist.
For Texans, the situation is reminiscent of the loyalty test that took place in 1980, when former Gov. John Connally and former Rep. George H.W. Bush both ran in the Republican presidential primary. Connally famously spent more than anyone else in the race -- the then-astounding sum of $12 million -- and came out with one convention delegate to show for it. Bush also fell short, but got the consolation prize, the second spot on Ronald Reagan's ticket, which set him on his own path to the Oval Office.
In 1992, Bush lost his bid for re-election, in part because yet another Texan, billionaire H. Ross Perot, ran as an independent who got nearly 20 percent of the vote.
That so many Texans could be in the Republican mix for 2016 says as much about the evolving, unsettled identity of the party as it does about the depth of its bench here.
Perry is the state's longest-serving governor ever, and one who was early to recognize the power of the tea party. But his first run for the White House in 2012 was a disaster, as he himself has lamented with a quip: "The weakest Republican field in history -- and they kicked my butt!"
On Sunday, he was more somber as he reflected on that experience during the closing session of the Texas Tribune festival.
Though he insisted he has not yet decided whether to run, "I went through a very humbling and very frustrating process in 2011 and 2012. I learned some very, for me, harsh lessons," Perry said. Chief among them: It takes preparation.
