Texas GOP Governor’s Race: Hutchison Concedes
[Guest post by DRJ]
Polls showed incumbent Governor Rick Perry was virtually certain to win the GOP primary in the Texas Governor’s race but there was a question mark regarding whether he could take 50% of the vote and avoid a run-off. With almost 42% of the vote recorded, that question mark may have been erased as the Austin American-Statesman and the Houston Chronicle are running banner headlines that Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison has conceded.
Former Houston Mayor Bill White was an easy winner for the Democrats.
– DRJ
Medina, with just 16% of the vote, should also concede. But she won’t because she is a classless loser. I guess she thinks if she holds on long enough that Perry’s numbers will drop below 50% and it will be a run off between her and Perry.
That would not be a run off; that would be a slaughter.
Also, Medina claimed Tea Party support and the Tea Party people never endorsed any candidate, at least not the Austin Tea Party, and they were pretty upset she was claiming they were behind her.
Comment by retire05 (1e885c) — 3/2/2010 @ 8:20 pm
Perry has over 52% of the vote with 60% of the precincts reporting. He should beat 50% easily if the rural precincts are unreported but I’m not sure what will happen if the urban votes are still out.
Comment by DRJ (daa62a) — 3/2/2010 @ 8:35 pm
retire05, are you sure it would be a runoff between her and Perry? I’m pretty sure that is possible only if Perry dips below 50 AND she beats Hutchison’s numbers. I don’t see the latter happening, for sure.
Comment by mcg (5cf983) — 3/2/2010 @ 8:51 pm
Here’s some quick analysis on why Perry won:
http://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=691
Short version: He was the more conservative candidate and ran a much better campaign…
Comment by Lawrence Person (1dfa58) — 3/2/2010 @ 8:54 pm
Perry was the TEA candidate, and that’s why he won. Maybe he’s not the most sincere or ideal, but he was the TEA candidate.
Texas would have been lucky to have KBH and is luckier to have Perry. We’re a state that gets the government we deserve, like Massachusetts and Illinois, only totally different.
Comment by Dustin (b54cdc) — 3/2/2010 @ 9:23 pm
Perry winning the primary decisively and avoiding a runoff is great news. With Obama acting as an albatross for the Democrats, and with the natural advantages the GOP enjoys in Texas, Perry and the Republicans should cruise to victory in November.
In addition, I was glad to see that SOB Ronnie Earle lose his bid for the Democratic nomination for Lieutenant Governor.
Comment by Mike LaRoche (349322) — 3/2/2010 @ 9:26 pm
” I was glad to see that SOB Ronnie Earle lose his bid for the Democratic nomination for Lieutenant Governor.
Comment by Mike LaRoche ”
I can’t imagine he seriously expected to win Lt Gov (which is the most powerful position in Texas in many ways). Ronnie’s a zealous fella, but he’s actually a pretty demanding and competent fella. While his work against KBH and Tom Delay was aggressive, I do not think the (R) had much to do with it (it’s just that big politicians in Texas happen to be republicans). Ronnie as Lt Gov would either be a slew of legislation and arm twisting or a total disaster, but I kinda think he’s be pretty effective if only his politics were closer to mine.
Maybe I’m letting my dislike of Delay color my judgment some. I think the view of Ronnie as democrat hatchet man is a bit unfair, though, and I know that he’s good at his former job. Maybe I’m also letting my dislike for Dewhurst color my views. I don’t think David is a straight shooter.
Comment by Dustin (b54cdc) — 3/2/2010 @ 9:35 pm
Approximately 1.4 million Texans voted in the GOP primary and around 650,000 voted in the Democratic primary. Of course, the Republican primary involved a high-profile contest and there will be more Democratic interest in the general election, but if the Democrats want to win they’re going to have to turn out a lot more voters … and a bunch of Republican voters will have to stay home or switch.
Comment by DRJ (daa62a) — 3/2/2010 @ 11:40 pm
“We’d rather fight than switch!”
-unnamed voters in Tareyton, Texas
Comment by redc1c4 (fb8750) — 3/3/2010 @ 12:01 am
New Narrative:
Perry won b/c Texans hated the Bank Bailouts (which started under Bush). No mention of Health Care, Terrorism, Spending or Hypocrisy on War.
Comment by HeavenSent (c3c032) — 3/3/2010 @ 6:04 am
Heavensent, they just can’t help themselves from trying to make every little story into a narrative helping the democrats.
What I’m seeing a lot of is how this race somehow repudiates the TEA movement, since Medina lied about having the support of the TEA party. Of course, Perry winning, despite having such a powerful opponent as KBH, long thought to be the most popular politician in the state, is partly due to his early, outspoken, highly covered, and now somehow forgotten TEA party involvement.
Perry’s a better man than a lot of media give him credit for, and I’m sure a lot of them just can’t figure out why people keep electing him and canceling their dead tree media subscriptions. Texan’s know that if they followed the endorsements of their journalism class, especially the class of national media journalists, Texas would simply be worse.
Comment by Dustin (b54cdc) — 3/3/2010 @ 10:35 am
I just want to say, that it was a class act for KBH to say she wouldn’t force a run off even if RP came in under 50%. She may have been in DC for too long for me to vote for her, but she still puts God’s country first.
Comment by Cowboy is a compliment (874456) — 3/3/2010 @ 3:48 pm
Cheney backed KBH. Wrong again, as usual, Dick.
Comment by DCSCA (9d1bb3) — 3/3/2010 @ 9:39 pm
Yeah, kinda like that dumb-ass that supported Coakley over Brown.
Dimwits.
Comment by Ag80 (f67beb) — 3/3/2010 @ 9:52 pm
IMP’s BDS and CDS are end-stage.
Comment by JD (3567dc) — 3/3/2010 @ 10:08 pm