UT-Austin (6/11-22, GOP voters, 2/24-3/6 in parens):
Kay Bailey Hutchison (R): 27 (36)
Rick Perry (R-inc): 38 (30)
Leo Berman (R): 1
Other: 7 (11)
Undecided: 26 (24)
(MoE: ±5.2%)
This is the third poll we’ve seen of the Texas gubernatorial primary since May (Rasmussen gave Perry a four-point lead, but a Baselice internal for Perry had KBH ahead by seven), and they all point to what appears to be one hell of a battle ahead of us. Despite KBH’s broad popularity in the state, Perry is still posting competitive numbers, and he’s no pushover when it comes to fundraising, either; he ended June with $9 million in the bank after raising $4.2 million in the last nine days of the month (the first period of the year in which he could legally accept donations).
Of course, with this poll’s rather rotund margin of error and its elongated sampling period, take this one with as many grains of salt as you desire. Less useful are these numbers of the Democratic primary:
Kinky Friedman (D): 13
Leticia Van de Putte (D): 12
Tom Schieffer (D): 3
Mark Thompson (D): 2
Someone else: 14
Undecided: 62
(MoE: ±6%)
Yeah, that’s right: Kinky Effin’ Friedman is leading the Democratic pack at this point, just barely nosing non-candidate Leticia Van de Putte. (Although, I suppose that “Someone else” technically has the lead…) Not included in this poll is former Travis Co. DA Ronnie Earle, who recently filed papers for a statewide run. It’s unclear, though, if Earle is more interested in Governor or Attorney General.
UT also included a Senate special election question in this round, and they found Democrat John Sharp leading the pack with a whopping 10% of the vote, followed closely by a pack of seven other candidates. With 62% of the electorate undecided, I think we can sit on this one until the race becomes a bit more defined. Full results are available here.
likes Perry. We need a good candidate to run against him.
This is what happens when we have no spokesman of any kind at a statewide level. I think the question about what office Dewhurst holds and how closely “you have been following the state legislature” defines this state perfectly. No clue what or why, but dang, looks purty on the tv!
Obama leads Romney 36-34 among likely voters.
: – )
Else he has gotta be favored.
Why is this happening?!? Perry is a washed up politican. Im certainly rooting for KBH.
it’s looking more and more likely that we’re going to be running against Perry. Not only is he a much weaker candidate in the general than Hutchison, Texas just doesn’t deserve to be abandoned to his brand of craziness. Winning a governor race in Texas would be huge, even bigger news than us getting California and Florida, which no one would really be surprised by.
By most accounts. So I doubt there is an ultra-conservative bias towards Perry, if anyone was thinking such (given that this shows Perry retaking the lead).
She might move up her timetable if this keeps up. Her senate seat should be the focus of D’s, more so than the Governorship. I guess both warrant some attention though.
With Perry in the lead it is time for all of those people, the 62%, to get serious about winning back the state for the Democrats. Kinky is the one with name identification. That speaks more to the fact that Kinky has run before than anything else. Tom Schieffer is the only candidate among all of them, announced or unannounced, that can actually win the race. The guy worked in the trenches for years with the Democrats, he has never missed voting in a primary. He is the only one who can pick up the KBH voters, and that is what it is going to take to turn the state blue.With the polls showing Perry in the lead, it is time to get behind the guy, stop trying to find new people to run,in doing so, the Democratic support is being watered down. We have the candidate in front of us who can do it. If we don’t we will end up with Perry again, and all of those “draft anyone” people will have themselves to blame.It is time to gut up and pick a Democrat who can win rather than someone who can just carry a banner.