Texas GOP loses star status

DALLAS, Aug. 31 (UPI) -- The Texas Republican Party is no longer what it was just a few years ago, observers say.

The state party has felt the weight of the U.S. president from Texas's low approval ratings and lame duck status, The Dallas Morning News reported Sunday. Not to mention, there is no Texan on the GOP presidential ticket, a rarity in recent elections.

"The Republicans have had their day, and their days in power are coming close to an end," said Bob Slagle, who led the Texas Democratic Party when it controlled all the statewide offices, as Republicans do now. "Politics has always been cyclical. Both major parties in my lifetime have been declared dead."

The Texas GOP goes into the Republican National Convention this week in St. Paul, Minn., with both its U.S. senators and a handful of its House members in leadership positions.

"Texas Republicans enjoy great respect across the national Republican Party," said state GOP Chairwoman Tina Benkiser. But "there are 49 other states. We can't forget that. ... We can't always have a Texan living at the White House."