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The campaign for Governor of Texas continues to evolve even though the filing deadline is in early January next year. The most watched and commented on are the campaigns of incumbent Governor Rick Perry, who is unabashedly conservative on fiscal and social issues, and U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutichison, who is recognized as a "moderate." Debra Medina, a former Republican County Chairman in Wharton County has also joined the fray as a conservative.
However, numerous candidates in the Democratic Party are also working to position themselves for the race as well. Kinky Freedman, who ran in the last election as an independent, has decided that he is now a Democrat and has announced he will seek the Democratic nomination for Governor. Joining him is Tom Schieffer, who was an ambassador under President George W. Bush, and East Texas rancher Hank Gilbert. According to one commentator, Democrat leaders don't believe any of the current crop of candidates can win, and neither do many donors and political experts. Democratic State Senator Royce West called Kinky Freedman "a joke," and former Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Garry Mauro has said, "Right now, we don't have a candidate who can win."
On the Republican side, Senator Hutchison began the year with a large lead over Governor Perry in polls, which evaporated over the summer with Perry up by 10 percentage points in July. The latest poll showed a statistical dead heat with Hutchison leading by 40%-38%, and Debra Medina coming in with 3%.
Governor Perry's campaign continues to focus on the grassroots with a unique program that provides incentives for volunteers to recruit voters for the Governor in the March 2010 primary. He also launched an online webcast this week that drew over 22,000 viewers and was reportedly the target of a planned Internet attack. Governor Perry touted proposals to make the recently enacted small business tax cut permanent and to adopt criminal penalties for employers who knowingly hire people who are in the country illegally.
Friday, October 2, 2009
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1 comments:
At present I see no better candidate than Perry, but I'm not sure that the man who has been pushing more toll roads (including older, paid-for roads) and the Texas corridor(selling Texas out to a Spanish company) could truly be characterized as a fiscal conservative. Perhaps more than the opposition, but not compared to the circles I prefer to be in.
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