New Face Upends Texas Governor Race

Old Guard Caught Off Guard

In Texas, Relative Unknown Medina Shakes Up Race With Perry and Hutchison

An obscure candidate with backing from the "tea party" movement threatens to deny a decisive victory to either Texas Gov. Rick Perry or Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in the battle for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in Texas.

Little-known Debra Medina made a splash two weeks ago in a televised debate. She criticized the governor for "painting a rosy picture that doesn't exist" about the Texas economy and said her rivals' "squabbling isn't getting us anywhere."

Mrs. Medina "stole the show," said Harvey Kronberg, longtime editor of the Quorum Report newsletter in Austin.

A nurse and former Republican Party leader in Wharton County, in south Texas, Mrs. Medina is running on a platform of small government, states' rights, and the elimination of property taxes and gun-registration laws.On Friday night, Mrs. Medina will try to prove that her debate showing was no fluke.

While she appeals to many of the same primary voters as Mr. Perry, she has been trying to tap into Texans' anti-incumbent fervor. Mr. Perry has been governor since 2000 and is seeking a third full term; Ms. Hutchison has served in Washington since 1993.

The winner of the March 2 primary is likely to face Bill White, the Democratic mayor of Houston, in November.

A Rasmussen Reports poll of 831 likely Republican voters, taken three days after the Jan. 14 debate, gave Mrs. Medina 12% support, a jump from the 4% or so she had in earlier surveys. She appeared to have drawn new backing from undecided voters as well as from the Perry and Hutchison camps.

To be sure, Mrs. Medina remained far below Mr. Perry's 43% and Ms. Hutchison's 33% voter backing.

And though she has raised $100,000 since the Jan. 14 debate, according to her staff, bringing her total to more than $360,000, the establishment candidates have raised millions of dollars and have already started funding ad campaigns.

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