Medina's star rising in GOP gubernatorial primary
Star-Telegram
Posted Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2010
By DAVE MONTGOMERY
dmontgomery@star-telegram.com
star-telegram.com
AUSTIN — After months of being largely dismissed in a race dominated by the state’s two Republican heavyweights, Debra Medina is making her presence felt with an anti-establishment message that has evidently struck a chord among a segment of Republican voters.
Buoyed by her performance against Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in last week’s televised debate, the conservative activist has climbed to 12 percent in the latest Rasmussen Reports poll, up from 4 percent in November, a showing that prompted organizers to include her in a second debate Jan. 29.
"Her performance in the debate made her the legitimate and credible 'none-of-the-above,’ " said Harvey Kronberg of the Austin-based Quorum Report, an online political newsletter.
While Medina remains a distant third with little realistic hope of pulling off an upset, experts say, her recent burst of momentum has enhanced her credibility and raised the prospect of forcing Perry and Hutchison into a runoff after the March 2 primary. The Rasmussen team called Medina "the only candidate who is gaining ground."
At the same time, analysts say, the broader attention has made Medina a bigger target, increasing scrutiny on some of her more controversial positions. Perry and Hutchison may also be inclined to toughen their attack against her at next week’s debate at WFAA/Channel 8 in Dallas. The debate, sponsored by Belo TV stations and The Dallas Morning News, was initially limited to the two leading candidates. But on Monday, organizers said they expanded it to include Medina based on her improved poll standing. Medina supporters had protested their candidate’s exclusion.
In a telephone interview Tuesday, Medina said the political bounce has generated more than $60,000 in contributions over the past four days, infusing her campaign with a "tremendous amount of new enthusiasm and excitement."
During Thursday’s debate in Denton, hosted by KERA/Channel 13 and co-sponsored by the Star-Telegram, Medina underscored her views for whacking government regulation and depicted Perry and Hutchison as establishment politicians.
Medina, a former Wharton County GOP chairwoman, also touted signature themes of replacing property taxes with sales taxes and removing government controls over gun ownership.
Medina’s message resonates with participants in last year’s Tea Party protests against rising taxes and burdensome regulations from Washington, analysts say.
Tarrant County Republican Chairwoman Stephanie Klick said Medina is also drawing support from voters who haven’t been active in party politics.
"She appeals to a lot of these newcomers," Klick said. "I think there are a lot of people who didn’t know there was a third candidate in the race."
"She’s definitely the candidate of discontent right now, and it’s a good time to be the candidate of discontent," said Jim Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Arlington. Her challenge over the next six weeks, he said, will be to "to portray herself as a political outsider but not an extremist."
DAVE MONTGOMERY IS CHIEF OF THE STAR-TELEGRAM’S AUSTIN BUREAU. 512-476-4294 |
