New Texas gov poll shows Tea Party candidate Debra Medina would defeat Democrat

As The Ticket previously reported, incumbent Gov. Rick Perry is being challenged by GOP Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and by Debra Medina, a businesswoman and Tea Party supporter who's become a wild-card third wheel in what was supposed to be a slugging match between two Establishment heavyweights who've never really liked each other anyway. Last month they had their initial debate for the March 2 primary and everyone avoided any major gaffes, which is a major point of these confrontations. The lesser-known Medina, however, got valuable statewide TV exposure. A previous Rasmussen survey of likely Republican voters found Perry leading Hutchison 44-29 with Medina trailing at 16. Now comes word, via a new Rasmussen Reports Poll, that Medina is gaining some traction and today all three of the Republicans lead the likely Democratic challenger, Houston Mayor Bill White. Hutchison still performs the best, beating White by 13 points, 49-36. Perry is second-best in that hypothetical matchup, defeating White by nine, 48-39. But now, Rasmussen's telephone poll finds, Medina would defeat White 41-38. That's a reversal from last month when White's totals put him ahead of her, 44-38. Medina has gone from 4% in November to 12% in January and now 16%, apparently by cutting into Hutchison's support...read more