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Mr. Perry spent his first six years in politics as a Democrat... A raging liberal he was not... He was one of a handful of freshman “pit bulls,” so named because they sat in the lower pit of the House Appropriations Committee, where they fought to keep spending low. But Mr. Perry cast some votes and took a few stands that seem to be at odds with his fiscal conservatism today. The most vivid example is his support of the $5.7 billion tax hike in 1987, signed by Gov. Bill Clements, a Republican, opposed by most Republican members. The bill...

<p>AUSTIN — Three new public opinion surveys show Gov. Rick Perry on the cusp of a re-election majority while former Houston Mayor Bill White remains mired with less than 45 percent support.</p> <p>Rice University political scientist Mark Jones said White is stuck at the base Democratic vote because he has been unable to make a policy or message issue stick to Perry as a negative........</p>

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The following are the totals for early voting in the 15 largest Counties in Texas. Remember there are 239 additional counties in which the data isn't provided. It appears that Texas is having a large turnout this primary. Some observations: 306,422 GOP votes - 62.3% of EV votes cast 184,694 Democratic votes - 37.6% of EV votes cast 655,919 GOP total votes cast statewide 2006 gov primary Early Voting Totals - Feb. 26, 2010March 2, 2010 Early Voting Cumulative Totals Thru Close of Business February 26, 2010 County Reg Voters Party # In Person On 2/26/2010 Cumulative In-Person Voters Cumulative...

HOUSTON — U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison rode a quarter horse with a heavy winter coat down the middle of Texas Avenue on Saturday morning, diligently waving to the thousands of Houston-area families that lined each side of the street. Her appearance in the annual parade preceding the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo was like a number of Hutchison's campaign appearances on the final weekend before she tries to unseat Gov. Rick Perry in Tuesday's Republican primary: She met — or at least waved to —Texans where they were, whether they were eating, shopping or watching the horses parade...

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry has bragged this week about making fundraising history by bringing in a record $1.3 million in one day, intimating that it came from tapping grassroots support. It turns out that the money mostly came from those who own the field. Only 43 donors provided the first $1 million, and the total $1.28 million was netted from just 123 givers, including lobbyists and long-time political players, reports filed with the Texas Ethics Commission showed Friday. On Thursday, Perry announced the fundraising total in a press release, saying the "Money Cannon" had included "numerous Texans donating...

Despite the countless press releases, Twitter posts and television spots that have flooded the landscape for more than a year, five critical sound bites have defined this election and put Perry in strong position to retain his party's nomination: • "I will be looking at what is best for Texas," Hutchison told Texas Monthly in October 2007 when asked whether she would resign her Senate post to run for governor. Her indecision about resignation, still not resolved to many Republicans' satisfaction, hindered Hutchison's message and left many wishing she had stayed put.• "I could not give a blank check...

Regardless, Gov. Rick Perry has fared relatively well, perhaps because of his anti-Washington rhetoric and his careful immigration stance, a recent poll indicates. It shows more than half of Texas Hispanics call themselves conservative, and a surprising 23 percent say they might participate in Tuesday's GOP primary. Among those, Perry leads Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison by 2 to 1, according to the poll, commissioned by an Austin consultant for a national group of Hispanic legislative leaders... Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, said the poll hints at a little-noticed facet of Perry's political persona: He doesn't frighten Hispanics...

FORT WORTH -- Hoping to fire up supporters as early voting in the gubernatorial race begins today, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison kicked off a "Declare Your Independence" tour Monday, encouraging Texas voters to declare their independence from Republican Gov. Rick Perry. Hutchison will be among several candidates casting their ballots today to bring attention to early voting. March 2, the date of the primary election, is also Texas' Independence Day. "I'm asking for your vote and I'm asking for your help," Hutchison told a crowd of more than 40 gathered in a back room at Billy Miner's Saloon...

Gov. Rick Perry heads into the start of early voting Tuesday with a comfortable lead over his two Republican primary challengers, but he could be in for a tough November fight against the Democratic nominee, a poll commissioned by the Austin American-Statesman and other Texas newspapers shows. Perry has the support of 45 percent of likely Republican primary voters, while 29 percent back U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and 17 percent support Wharton activist Debra Medina. Just 8 percent are undecided. The telephone survey was conducted Feb. 2-10, before Medina said important questions had been raised about whether the...

Which Rick Perry will appear? The right one, for any occasion Why has Rick Perry never lost an election? It could be because there are four of him. First, there is Chamber of Commerce Rick Perry. He wears suits that are nice enough, but not extravagant — probably purchased off-the-rack and a little big for him. He loves to attend corporate groundbreakings, he can grin his way through a grating cable-television interview, and he can work a hotel ballroom full of contractors, Realtors or doctors. There is Natural Disaster Rick Perry. This Perry almost always wears a beige work...

Tea party-backed candidate Debra Medina is closing on Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in Texas’s Republican gubernatorial primary, increasing the odds the race led by Gov. Rick Perry will be thrown into a runoff. According to a survey out Tuesday by Public Policy Polling, Medina, a nurse who’s now a businesswoman, had the support of 24 percent of likely Republican primary voters, trailing the three-term senator by only 4 percentage points. Perry, who leads Hutchison by double-digits in several polls, got 39 percent in the latest survey. If no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote in the March...

Medina now leads Hutchison among conservatives WHARTON, TX – In the latest poll of likely Republican primary voters from February 4th to 7th, the North Carolina-based Public Policy Polling (PPP) report shows Debra Medina is coming on strong. According to the PPP report, although Perry is at 39% to 28% for Kay Bailey Hutchison, Debra Medina is now at a whopping 24%! There are major splits within the race along ideological lines according to the poll results. Perry is at 42% with conservatives, and Medina is now outpolling Hutchison with conservatives by a 25-23 margin.

Critics say eliminating all property taxes would reduce local control. Debra Medina, the feisty Republican running for governor, promises Texans that she will liberate them from their property taxes. "I talk about that for freedom reasons first," Medina said at the Jan. 29 gubernatorial debate. "We've surrendered private property ownership to the ever-growing state — we lease our property in the form of ever increasing rents known as property taxes," she wrote on her campaign Web site. "We've forgotten that ownership is an essential element of freedom." A call to eliminate property taxes might resonate with many taxpayers, beleaguered...

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin stumped for Gov. Rick Perry at a rally Sunday in suburban Houston, adding some national Republican star power to Perry's re-election campaign. “I doubt there is another public figure in our country who gives liberals a bigger case of the hives than our special guest today,” Perry said. “At the very mention of her name, the liberals, the progressives, the media elites, they literally foam at the mouth.” Palin appeared with Perry a day after the Republicans' most recent vice-presidential nominee addressed the first national convention of the anti-establishment “tea party” coalition in Nashville, Tenn....

Hutchison brings grown-up approach to working on behalf of Texans and gets endorsement in GOP race Kay Bailey Hutchison might not be the flashiest or the most beloved politician Texas has ever produced, but it's a mistake to discount or denigrate her accomplishments and record. As an institution, we have disagreed with the senator on various issues, but we recognize her effectiveness. We also appreciate the fact that she acts like an adult, talks like an adult and treats Texans like adults. No, Hutchison is not the flashiest politician in the race, but she is nonetheless the best choice...

Debra Medina's interview with Judge Napolitano on Fox News Freedom Watch. http://freedomwatchonfox.com/

Are you intentionally lying? Straight from your source: "The surprise, as in the new Rasmussen Reports survey of the GOP gubernatorial primary, is the growing strength of Debra Medina, a businesswoman active in the state’s Tea Party movement. Medina now edges White 41% to 38%."

Sarah Palin’s appearance at a Sunday campaign rally with Gov. Rick Perry in suburban Houston on Sunday could be the single biggest event of the 2010 Republican race for governor. This is not a campaign marked by big crowds or raucous events for any candidate, but the Palin event could well draw several thousand people just a few hours before the Super Bowl. But the run-up to the event has not been good for Team Perry. After Palin harshly criticized White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel for his use of the word “retarded,” it came to light that...

AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry in his unprecedented nine years in office proved time and again that he is a team player: team Republican. Perry's actions and policies as governor — from tort reform to congressional redistricting to championing an amendment banning gay marriage — made him anathema to Democrats. But his approval rating among self-identified Republicans in public opinion surveys remains above 70 percent........ “You can easily summarize Perry's record by saying: Most Texans don't expect much from their state government, and that's what he's given them,” Jillson said.........Redistricting Victory It was the seminal year of his governorship....