The campaign of George P. Bush hit a bump in the road this week as the daily newspaper in the capital city of Austin elected to endorse a Republican rival for the office of Texas Land Commissioner.

"In a weak field, we choose David Watts for land commissioner," declared the headline in the Austin American-Statesman on Tuesday.

The editorial board continued by lamenting that the actual responsibilities of the office are often overshadowed by the future ambitions of the people who hold the position.

"One truth about the Office of Texas Land Commissioner is that it tends to be a launching pad for politicians aspiring to bigger, brighter things," the editorial board wrote. "It's a reality that makes it even more strange that the vast majority of Texans aren't entirely sure what the land commissioner actually does."

While Watts may be able to say that he bested Bush in comparison in the eyes of one of the state's most important journalistic institutions, it is a very lackluster win at best.

The newspaper went on to way that that the "primary's weak candidate pool" was "distressing."

Watts is a project manager from East Texas. Born to an Alabama minister, Watts moved around as a child before settling in Texas. He also ran for state representative in Kentucky in 1992.

However, the slight from the Austin daily does not erase many advantages Bush does hold over his competitor. Being the nephew and grandson of U.S. presidents, Bush does maintain high profile name recognition and the resources of strong political alliances. As well, he is a Hispanic running in a highly Hispanic state, and one where the Latino population does tend to sway a bit more to the Republican side than it does on a national level. It is a variant that goes back a long way according to some history and political enthusiasts.

"Tejanos and other indigenous cultures blended with immigrants to Texas from the United States in the early 1800s and developed a common sense of independence," Von Ormy Mayor Art Martinez de Vara to Texas GOP Vote. "Today, that frontier independence translates into a distrust of government, a desire for less government, a respect for firearms and strong family values."

While Bush may be the Republican answer to a surging Latino electorate that is claiming more and more political clout, he has said that he does not plan on bending toward the Democratic values that have attracted the lion's share of the Hispanic vote in the past few elections.

"We don't have to change our positions or our ideas to win the Hispanic vote. We need to change our tactics," KEYE reported Bush saying at a campaign speech. "I believe that as Republicans, it's incumbent -- not only upon the party but also on elected officials and candidates -- to spend time in the Hispanic community, not just show up the day before an election."