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AUSTIN — A new poll blasted as deeply flawed by some candidates in the 2010 governor’s race shows that incumbent Rick Perry holds a 12-point lead over Republican primary challenger Kay Bailey Hutchison and that author-entertainer Kinky Friedman is the front-runner among Democrats.
Perry had 42 percent compared with 30 percent for Hutchison, the state’s senior U.S. senator, among likely voters in the March 2 primary, according to the inaugural University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll. Former Wharton County Republican Chairwoman Debra Medina had 7 percent.Among Democrats, Friedman led with 19 percent. Next were Fort Worth attorney Tom Schieffer with 10 percent; former Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle, who is considering joining the race, with 5 percent; and Mark Thompson, who ended his candidacy Monday, with 3 percent. Rounding out the field were Fort Worth educator Felix Alvarado, with 2 percent, and Whitehouse rancher Hank Gilbert, with 0.3 percent.For a hypothetical special election for Hutchison’s Senate seat, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, Houston Mayor Bill White and former Comptroller John Sharp were in a three-way tie within the survey’s margin of error.The survey helped launch the Tribune, a nonprofit online news publication. But as candidates digested the results, Hutchison’s and Gilbert’s campaigns assailed the methodology and said the results were seriously flawed."Polls go up and polls go down, but some polls, like today’s Internet-based University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll, have proven to be unreliable on many occasions," said Hutchison campaign manager Terry Sullivan, adding that there are "serious questions" about whether the poll is representative of voters. "I cannot believe I waited up until 4:40 in the morning for this poll," Gilbert spokesman Vince Leibowitz said. "It is a complete and total joke."Gilbert’s and Hutchison’s campaigns said the company that conducted the poll, YouGov/Polimetrix, has produced unreliable polls in the past. But Jim Henson, director of UT’s Texas Politics Project, which co-sponsored the survey, defended the results."Our methods are sound, and we stand by them," he said. The survey of 800 registered voters was conducted Oct. 20-27 and has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points. Republican primary questions have a margin of error of 5.2 points, and it is 6 percent for Democratic questions.Schieffer speaksAlso Tuesday, Schieffer spoke at a business lunch in Fort Worth after Tarrant County Commissioner Roy C. Brooks introduced him as a friend for more than 30 years.His main message was the need to improve Texas’ education system. "I worry we have somehow given up on public education," Schieffer said. Thompson formally ended his bid and endorsed Gilbert, saying the Democratic field had become too crowded. Staff writer Aman Batheja contributed to this report.DAVE MONTGOMERY IS CHIEF OF THE STAR-TELEGRAM’S AUSTIN BUREAU. 512-476-4294 ANNA M. TINSLEY, 817-390-7610
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