GOP Upstart Medina Makes Strong Showing in Texas Governor Match-Up
Bruce Drake
Texas Gov. Rick Perry and his rival for the gubernatorial nomination, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, both are leading Democrat Bill White, the former Houston mayor, in general election match-ups -- as was the case in a previous survey -- but the surprise is that Debra Medina, a favorite of conservative and Tea Party activists, also makes a strong showing against White, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll conducted Feb. 1.
Perry leads White 48 percent to 39 percent with 5 percent preferring some other candidate and 8 percent undecided. Bailey leads him 49 percent to 36 percent with 7 percent preferring someone else and 7 percent undecided.
Medina, a former Wharton County GOP chair, leads White 41 percent to 38 percent with 6 percent preferring someone else and 16 percent undecided. The margin of error is 3 points. Last month, White led Medina by 44 percent to 38 percent.
In the GOP primary contest, a Rasmussen poll released yesterday had Perry leading Hutchison 44 percent to 29 percent with Medina at 16 percent. Last November, she stood at 4 percent.