The primary for the 2010 Texas governor’s race is quickly approaching.
The race is still moving for the elections taking place March 2 between Republican candidates Rick Perry, Kay Bailey Hutchinson and Debra Medina as well as for Democratic candidates Bill White and Farouk Shami.
A recent poll published in the Houston Chronicle stated that two-term Governor Perry leads with 45 percent among likely Republican voters, and three-term U.S. Senator Hutchinson trails with 29 percent. Tea Party activist Medina came in last with 17 percent, and 8 percent were undecided.
The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percent.
While Perry has a great lead, he hasn’t closed enough votes to avoid a run off with opponent Hutchinson.
The Chronicle poll also asked voters about possible future opponents, White and Perry, considering the large lead White has over his opponent, Shami. According to a TPM Poll tracker, Shami stands at 11 percent and White at 50 percent.
The match up ran close with Perry up 43 percent to White’s 37 percent.
A frequently asked question that is crucial to these primaries is Perry’s public opinion polls as governor. The polls of likely Texas voters in the Chronicle stated that 46 percent approve of the job Perry is doing as governor and 38 percent disapprove.
Blum & Weprin Associates Inc. conducted the poll for the Houston Chronicle, the San Antonio Express-News, the Austin American-Statesman, the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
In the telephone survey, 2,017 Texas adults were interviewed, including 1,508 registered voters, according to the Chronicle.
Upcoming profiles
- Tuesday:
- Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison
- Wednesday:
- Democrat Bill White
- Thursday:
- Republican Rick Perry
- Friday:
- Democrat Debra Medina
If the social networking site Facebook were any indication, Hutchison will be the big loser in Tuesday’s primary election. I first began checking the three GOP candidates’ Facebook fan numbers on Feb. 16. During that time Perry has added 4,844 new fans, Medina has added 4,317 new fans, and Hutchison has added just 427 new fans. In this one index of support both Perry and Medina have a tenfold momentum advantage over the senator who appears to be practically dead in the water.
In total number of fans Perry and Medina are also far ahead of the struggling senator. As of 7:25 today the numbers are:
Perry 28,965
Medina 23,904
Hutchison 15,369
How does a Perry/Medina runoff election sound to everybody? It could happen.