GOP candidate Medina gains ground, refuses to back down
Republican gubernatorial candidate Debra Medina
In the Republican bid for governor, Debra Medina has made some headway, enough to stir up talk of a runoff between the top two candidates, Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.
But, Medina says she's not going anywhere. She has raised enough money to air some advertisements, and held her own during the Republican candidates' first debate.
She also pulled double digits in a recent Rasmussen poll, enough to put her into the "televised debate ring" again Friday night for round two.
"I feel like I was one of those kids who grew up with society saying 'You can't or you won't, and I said 'Yeah, I will, you watch'," Medina said.
Medina, still a distant third against fellow Republicans Perry and Hutchison, has gained ground with her grassroots efforts, sparking speculation over whether she'll send the race into a runoff between the top two.
"If she performs well on Friday again, then I think you can probably expect to see another bump for her [in the polls] and you're almost assured of a runoff at that point," Jim Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin, said.
Most political pundits will tell you a runoff situation almost never sits well for an incumbent, but, to some extent, both Perry and Hutchison could be coined incumbents.
The race could go into a runoff between Hutchison and Perry.
"One of the things that's really important here I think, is [Medina's] really tapping into the mood of the moment," Henson said.
It's a mood of anti-Washington, anti-incumbency and anti-establishment that some voters have found in Medina.
While Medina's confident she can win in March, if the race does go to a runoff between Perry and Hutchison, she said neither will get her vote.
"There are lots of ways for people to get on the ballot and I fully believe if folks aren't happy with the major party candidates, you're going to see a bevy of minor party candidates on the ballot," Medina said.
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For now, Texans will just have to wait and see if the name Medina is among the names on the November ballot.
Early voting for the March primaries begins Feb. 16. Election Day is March 2.
Gubernatorial candidates on the Democratic side are former Houston mayor Bill White and hair care mogul Farouk Shami.