Update: Texas Governor's Race

There have been quite a bit a news since I last wrote about the Texas Governor's race and I wanted to give everyone an update.

Republicans:
The Republican nomination appears to be between just two candidates. Of course, the two candidates are two big name candidates. Governor Perry has already announced his candidacy and Senator Hutchison has announced her exploratory committee (a big step for her).

There are rumors that Lt. Governor David Dewhurst will run but I believe those are just rumors. Two others have announced their candidacy, Larry Kilgore (former gubernatorial and senate candidate) and Debra Medina( former Wharton County Republican Chair). I think this blog will be the last you hear of those candidates. I cannot see any other big name Republican entering the governor's race. I think people like Dewhurst are actually waiting for Hutchison to run so they can run for her senate seat.

The two big pieces of news since I last wrote is that, Hutchison is in, more or less. She's tried in the past to run for governor but I truly believe she is very serious this time. This election cycle her only competition at this point is winning the nomination against an unpopular incumbent governor. Her exploratory committee is now official and she has transferred funds from her Senate campaign fund to her gubernatorial fund. Hutchison does have until January 2010 to announce her candidacy but I truly believe she will announce and much sooner than January.

The second piece of news is the national fame Governor Perry has gained from his participation in the Texas Tea parties. My guess is Perry recognized that Hutchison is running and knows he's in for a rough race so he's trying to increase his appeal to the parties base. The tea parties were very popular around the country and every participant leans to the right on their political views. Most Texans can see through Perry and his pitiful attempt at leaving the door open for secession from the union. We will see what else Perry does to try and re-invent himself for this race.

Democrats
There has been a lot of progress on the Democratic side of the race. There are now two official candidates Kinky Friedman and Tom Schieffer. Friedman ran as an independent in 2006 but his campaign never really got traction and most people did not take him seriously. Schieffer is a former Texas state representative and Ambassador to Japan and Australia. His brother is Bob Schieffer the host of CBS's "Face the Nation."

Aside from these two canidates there are not many other potential candidates. Houston Mayor Bill White was rumored to be considering a run but he has indicated he is going to run for the Senate assuming Hutchison runs for governor. Texas Senator Leticia Van de Putte may run, there are "Draft Leticia" campaigns on Facebook, but a successful candidacy is a stretch. Van de Putte represents the San Antonio area and does not have much statewide recognition.

The Democratic Nomination looks like it will between Schieffer or Friedman. Who will win depends largely on how serious Friedman is taken. His campaign theme so far seems to actually be copying Senator Hutchison's theme "Texans for Kay" and he announced his candidacy in a letter to Texans the same way Hutchison did. Kinky does have statewide name recognition having run for governor before. He might have a chance in the general election if he can get Democrats to actually support him and he can get the same number of independent voters he got in 2006.

Schieffer actually has credible qualifications for a governor. The big question with Schieffer is: Can he excite Democrats? If Schieffer can get his campaign some steam and Kinky is considered a joke the nomination is no doubt his. I will say this about the democratic nomination Texas Democrats are looking for a serious candidate who can actually win the Governors Mansion. Whoever is successful in showing they can win statewide will immediately get massive Democratic support.

Time will tell about the Democratic candidates. The way things look right now, the Republican nomination is going to be fun to watch, so grab your popcorn!