Gov. Perry has slight lead in Texas primary race with Hutchison

Rasmussen Reports:

Texas Governor Rick Perry and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison find themselves essentially tied in an early look at their 2010 Primary battle.

The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey shows Perry attracting 42% of the vote while Hutchison earns 38%. Seven percent (7%) say they’d like to vote for somebody else and 13% are undecided.

Perry leads by 15 percentage points among conservative voters but Hutchison leads by 35 points among the moderates.

Favorability ratings for the two candidates are virtually even among Likely Republican Primary Voters. Perry is viewed Very Favorably by 26% and Very Unfavorably by 9%. The comparable numbers for Hutchison are 27% and 10%.

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These numbers suggest that the Governor’s race is wide open with neither candidate holding a commanding position. This is the first Rasmussen Reports poll of the race. Earlier in the year, other polls had shown Hutchison with a significant lead.

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I was more surprised by the earlier poll than this one. It appears to be a tight race. Gov. Perry has had a high profile at conservative events and that might account for his improved position. He has also been running against Washington, which is hard for Kay to do effectively. She always runs good campaigns so I expect the race to stay competitive. It looks like a tossup at this point.