ALICE (November 3, 2012)--A South Texas state House race may hold clues as to how successful Republicans can be at winning over Hispanic voters in the future.

The tight contest for Texas House District 43 is in a predominantly Hispanic area west of Corpus Christi that the GOP has historically conceded on Election Day.

But with Latinos fueling the state's population boom, Republicans face a greater need to win over Hispanic voters if they hope to continue dominating Texas politics.

That's why Republican donors are pouring mountains of cash, nearly half a million dollars, to support J.M. Lozano, who was elected to the House as a Democrat in 2010 but switched parties in March.

He's in a toss-up race with ex-Democratic state Rep. Yvonne Gonzalez Toureilles.