Texas Governor Primary May Go to Run-off Thanks to Truther Candidate

Debra Medina, who recently torpedoed her campaign for governor of Texas by expressing some 9/11 Truther sentiments in an interview with Glenn Beck, seems poised to force the race into a run-off:

Just days before Texas Republicans pick their nominee for governor, incumbent Rick Perry has his biggest lead yet.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely Republican Primary voters finds Perry leading Senate Kay Bailey Hutchison 48% to 27%, with Tea Party activist Debra Medina earning 16% of the vote. Nine percent (9%) of Texas GOP voters remain undecided.

At the beginning of the month, Perry lead 44% to Hutchison’s 29% and Medina’s 16%. In September, just after Hutchison traveled statewide to announce her candidacy for governor, she posted a 40% to 38% lead over Perry, but that was the high point of her support which has been declining ever since.

Early voting has already begun in the primary which wraps up on Tuesday. Turnout is often difficult to project for primaries, but among those who say they have already voted, Perry has earned 49% support, while Hutchison and Medina have picked up 24% and 20% respectively.

If the winning candidate fails to get 50% of the vote a run-off between the top two vote-getters will be held on April 13.

Medina is the favorite of the Tea Party folks in Texas and unfortunately her small support is probably pretty firm. The Tea Party group in Texas seems content to ignore Medina's 9/11 statements and continue to push a flawed candidate who cannot win either the primary or the general election.

Whether the race goes to a run-off or not, Medina will be out after Tuesday. She won't finish in the top two.