It's election time, and I voted around 8 A.M.  By the way, there were about a dozen people already there voting.

As you can guess, I voted for Governor Greg Abbott and Senator Ted Cruz, the two candidates who have received national coverage.

My vote for Governor Abbott was a no-brainer.  He has done a masterful job of managing the state without making anyone angry.  In that respect, he is a lot more like former Governor George W. Bush than Governor Rick Perry. 

His re-election message gets a lot of help from the Texas economy: job growth is very strong.  Our cities can't add enough highways to keep up with the population growth and business expansion.  It's a good time to be in Texas, especially for an incumbent governor asking voters for re-election.

Mark my words: Governor Abbott will run for president in 2024.  His numbers with Hispanics were strong in 2014, another indication that Texas Hispanics are interested in more than DACA or immigration.  According to exit polls, Abbott got 44% of the Hispanic vote in Texas.  In 2014, abortion hurt Wendy Davis.  In 2018, the issue is Lupe Valdez, who has been running on mute mode since the primary.

Abbott projects executive confidence, an important trait for a future president.  Keep an eye on him.

My vote for Senator Cruz was more ideological.  He is a reliable conservative vote in the U.S. Senate, and we need more of them.

To be honest, I am not sure that the Texas GOP is madly in love with Cruz.  There are still many wounds from the 2012 primary, when then-solicitor general Cruz was the rebel against Lt. Governor David Dewhurst from the political establishment.  It was a bitter fight, with Governor Perry supporting Dewhurst and the Tea Party going with Cruz.  It got ugly, and I can still feel the anger.

My vote is in, so I can wait until election night and see the results.

PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.