This shift was started back when GWB was running for Governor.
They figured out the the Hispanic/Latino community were big on hard work, faith and family, not having the government in their faces, and actively courted them.
A large percentage (in Texas, anyway) are also veterans.
The thought was if you could start to peel off a few percentage points here and there, away from the left, it may create a groundswell.
Heck, any vote taken away from the left is welcome news.
Having Ninfa Laurenzo's endorsement didn't hurt.
It is paying off, in spite of what number being roughly 40%.
Go back past 20-30 years ago and beyond and you'll see that the numbers were lower than that.
I dunno, maybe just me.
Heck, the whole country (and later, state) was started by people from Mexico, Tennessee, Germany, and Czechoslovakia, with a few miscreants thrown in.
Just all part on what makes Texas.....Texas.