Meet Texas' latest GOP gubernatorial candidate

Lisa Fritsch, per the story about her official campaign announcement in the Austin American-Statesman, certainly sounds interesting.

First, she's a Republican of African-American background, who like her narrow sliver of compadres, says the GOP needs to diversify.

Second, she calls herself a "reluctant" tea partier, who says she did take pride, as an African-American, in Barack Obama being elected president. And, her announcement speech even had this Obama-like line:

No matter what either party has tried to tell us, we are on the same side. There is no red state, blue state, this is our state. In Texas we value our independence, our freedom, our safety, and our families. Everything we do is because we are striving for an ideal that transcends where we came from.

Add to that a childhood story that sounds like that of Wendy Davis, and it's more interesting.

Plus, she seems more charismatic than Greg Abbott and Tom Pauken combined. Plus, with a degree in Japanese language and literature, she's certainly no dummy.

The field's crowded, though, with Miriam Martinez seeking to become the first Hispanic governor (fat chance, even if you won the GOP primary, as a recent party-switcher, and your nuttery from last year's state House race) and perennial secessionist candidate Larry Kilgore (hey, leave the country if you don't like it).

That said, Fritsch sounds more serious than either of them, though probably with little more chance at the nomination.