Texas Governor Now a 4 Way Race

Texas Governor Now a 4 Way Race

The Texas governor's race already looked way more interesting than ours and it just got better.

State comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn bailed on a primary challenge to GOP incumbent Rick Perry and is instead running as an independent. Making it even more interesting: her son is Bush press flack Scott McClellan.

Already in as an independent is country music outlaw Kinky Friedman, who was polling above 20% in some recent polls and who has some of the crew who elected Jesse Ventura on staff

The Dems are usually badly outnumbered but are fightin' mad in Texas after the DeLay re-redistricting. Chris Bell, one of the Dems drawn out of office, is seeking the nod.

So you have Strayhorn cutting into Perry's vote, and perhaps a Democrat could win. But Friedman will cut into the Dem's vote, though he'll draw from both sides. I'd expect Perry to hold the social conservatives, Strayhorn to win over a fair share of moderate/business type Republicans, Friedman to win support among pure independents and disaffected Dems, and the Democrats to hold a black/Hispanic base. Late polls might be key, with people swinging support to their second or even third choice. (This would be a great test case for instant runoff voting...)

Ballot access is tough in Texas: if you sign Strayhorn or Friedman's petition, you can't vote in a party primary. No doubt Perry will challenge every line of Strayhorn's documents.

Another difficulty that may hurt Friedman more: Ventura's 1998 win was in large part fueled by first time voters who registered on Election Day - not an option in Texas. The disaffected voters who may say "why the hell not?" (that's Friedman's actual, for real campaign slogan) won't be registered in time.

This will be a fun one to watch.