Free Republic

The "tea party" movement is showing its strength in Texas, where activist Debra Medina is siphoning votes from two much more familiar names running for the Republican nomination for governor. The Houston Chronicle's profile of Medina is worth a read. With less than two weeks remaining before early voting begins, Medina's campaign appears to be gathering steam; the latest Rasmussen Reports survey shows her drawing 16 percent of the vote, versus 29 percent for Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who's trying to make the move from Washington to Austin, and 44 percent for the sitting governor, Rick Perry. The Medina threat...

A popular U.S. senator and an incumbent governor headline a close race, but a feisty conservative activist is gaining ground. ------------------ Last but by no means least is the most conservative of the bunch, Debra Medina. A Republican Party activist and the former Wharton County Republican Party chair, as well as the former state coordinator for the Campaign for Liberty, Medina is an admitted long shot, but she has seemingly pushed an awful lot of the right buttons with her share of likely voters: A new Rasmussen Reports poll revealed a significant shift to Medina among likely Texas primary voters....

The three Republican candidates for governor clashed in a final televised debate Friday night, sharpening their differences as they jockeyed for advantage going into the March 2 primary campaign.VOTE FOR MEDINA IN MARCH 2ND 2010 PRIMARY FOR TEXAS GOVERNOR SHE IS FOR ELIMIINATION OF PROPERTY TAX AND GUN REGISTRATION

Has anyone heard the results of last nights governor debate in Texas? I watched it and thought Medina did an excellent job. I am curious to know who is considered the winner of last nights debate.

"DALLAS (AP) — U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and political activist Debra Medina ganged up on front-running Gov. Rick Perry on Friday in the final televised debate before the March 2 Republican primary." Medina won the online vote asking who won the debate with 97% of the vote.

DALLAS—An obscure candidate with backing from the "tea party" movement threatens to deny a decisive victory to either Texas Gov. Rick Perry or Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in the battle for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in Texas. Little-known Debra Medina made a splash two weeks ago in a televised debate. She criticized the governor for "painting a rosy picture that doesn't exist" about the Texas economy and said her rivals' "squabbling isn't getting us anywhere." Mrs. Medina "stole the show," said Harvey Kronberg, longtime editor of the Quorum Report newsletter in Austin. On Friday night, Mrs. Medina will try to...

Debra Medina against all odds is quickly becoming a viable candidate the implications are enormous. Scott Brown's shocking victory is a mixed blessing for the cause of freedom. On one hand it has put a major roadblock in the path towards Obama Care. On the other hand Scott Brown is a big government Republican. So far there are no signs that true reform is taking place in the GOP. The people in control of the party during the worst two consecutive election cycle defeats in GOP history are still in control of the leadership nationally. This is why a Debra...

AUSTIN — As the Republican candidates for governor prepare for what likely is their last debate tonight on statewide television, the first debate between Democrats Bill White and Farouk Shami has been set for Feb. 8 in Fort Worth.

Well I had the privilege to chitchat a bit with the Governor last evening... he had just returned from the shooting range with a bunch of bloggers (around for the Perry Blogger Summit [pdf]) and supporters where he had fired his own weapon that he personally carries (paraphrase: "I know I have a bunch of guys around, but if something goes down I'm gonna be in on the action"). We also discussed (along with Robbie Cooper of urbangrounds.com) Texas's lack of open-carry freedoms (the Governor personally has nothing against it, 'though prefers concealed carry "I don't want the bad...

Debra Medina, the pro-freedom gubernatorial candidate for Texas, pulled out a virtual howitzer and blew Rick Perry (aka Corridor Man) along with Kay Bailey Hutchison (aka Banker Lackey) out of the water in a televised debate last night.

AUSTIN – Like one of those preschool picture books, Rick Perry's latest list of big-money donors invites a question: Which one doesn't belong? Included among the governor's usual givers, staunch Republicans all, is John McHale, an Austin high-tech millionaire with a long history of giving to Democrats. McHale gave the Republican governor $50,000, making him one of Perry's largest donors as he seeks to fend off a challenge from GOP rival Kay Bailey Hutchison, a U.S. senator. McHale did not return a telephone call seeking comment on why he was supporting the Republican governor. But there are clues that...

Here's a snippet listing the top seven donors to each.... See the complete list at the link.... Top Givers to Hutchison H. Ross Perot, Dallas computer executive $110,000 William Greehey, San Antonio energy executive $100,000 Sid Bass, Fort Worth oilman $100,000 Edward Bass, Fort Worth venture capitalist $100,000 Robert and Martha Gillikin, Dallas $100,000 Peter and Edith O'Doinnell, Dallas $100,000 Barry Andrews, Dallas beer distributor $100,000 Top Contributors to Perry Bob Perry, Houston homebuilder, $200,000 T. Boone Pickens, Dallas oilman $100,000 Curtis Mewbourne, Tyler oilman $100,000 Blackridge Associates, Austin lobbyists $55,000 J. Bass, Dallas, Dallas investment adviser $50,000 Ray...

An exquisite sense of timing—and a good deal of luck—has helped transform Rick Perry from an unknown Democratic state legislator into a swaggering Republican who’s spent more years in the Governor’s Mansion than anyone in Texas history. Is it enough to carry him past Kay Bailey Hutchison and all the way to the White House?

The NRA endorsement comes just days after the Perry Camp announced that fellow conservative and Republican Party mega-star Sarah Palin will campaign with Perry in February.

Look for Kay Bailey Hutchison to expand her circle of support from the Bushies in her bid to unseat Gov. Rick Perry. Hutchison this week added endorsements from James Baker, who served as secretary of state under George HW Bush. Earlier, Bush 43 Vice President Dick Cheney came to Texas to publicly endorse Hutchison. And the Republican senator has plenty of support from one-time aides to George W. Bush - informal advisers Karl Rove and Karen Hughes as well as former education secretary Margaret Spellings.Now, comes Poppy Bush. A source close to the campaign confirms that Bush 41 himself...

Governor Perry and his campaign are hosting a blogger and social media summit January 22-23. This exciting event is geared toward helping Governor Perry's supporters better harness the power of social media. Panelists include some of the nation’s most renowned bloggers and social media experts like Andrew Breitbart of BigGovernment.com, Ed Morrissey of HotAir.com, conservative writer and commentator, Matt Lewis, Roger L. Simon, CEO of PJTV.com, Patrick Ruffini of Engage political media company, and Dr. Melissa Clouthier a conservative Texas blogger. Governor Perry, an avid tweeter, will also attend. The Governor's supporters are the lynchpin of our campaign's strategy, and...

LUBBOCK, Texas - Texas Gov. Rick Perry took another swipe at Washington and big government, issuing proposals Wednesday that would make it difficult for the Legislature to raise taxes and would limit the amount state spending could grow. He proposed constitutional amendments Wednesday that would require a supermajority of the Legislature to raise taxes and to cap the growth of state spending at a level tied to inflation and population growth. Perry said his proposals would solidify the "state's commitment to fiscal discipline." He said it's more important than ever to exert fiscal discipline as Washington expands programs that "pile...

The political paths of three former student leaders from Texas’ two main public universities have crisscrossed for years. All three have been on the political radar since all were on the same statewide ballot in 1990. Now, two face off March 2 for the Republican nomination for governor: U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison is trying to unseat Gov. Rick Perry. The third, Democratic former state Comptroller John Sharp, wants Hutchison’s Senate seat -- whenever it might be up for election. Her seat is scheduled election in 2012, but she could resign sooner, which would cause a special election. Two of...

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) will air out a long pass on Thursday when she drops more than $100K on a single ad during what will likely be one of the most-watched events in TX this year. Hutchison will spend the money on a 30-second spot when Texas meets Alabama for the College Football national championship. It will cost far more than an average TV spot -- in fact, in some districts, the amount Hutchison will spend on the single hit would be enough to run ads for a week. The ad will run during pregame festivities in Austin and...

AUSTIN – When he first took office as governor, Rick Perry acknowledged, "I'm not George Bush." And in the decade that followed, he has sought to prove it. As the 10-year incumbent, Perry is the dominant force in the campaign that formally began Monday, and in Texas politics in general. And one way he got there was by studiously separating himself from George W. Bush. If Bush reflects the rise of the Republican Party in Texas, Perry represents its political dominance and recent populist shift. "There's no doubt that psychologically, Perry has tried to step away from the shadow of...