Texas Gov. Rick Perry received the GOP nomination for an unprecedented third four-year term Tuesday in a battle against Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Debra Medina. Perry received a total of 51.25% of the vote (85 percent of the precincts reporting). In the Democratic primary, Former Houston Mayor Bill White has won the nomination outpacing six challengers receiving a total of 75.97% of the vote (86 percent of the precincts reporting). Perry and White gave their acceptance speeches early in the evening. In his acceptance speech White stated: “The vast majority of Texans — the numbers are in — have sent a clear signal to the entrenched interests in Austin: Texas is ready for a new governor,” he told supporters in Houston.
Perry in his speech declared: “I think the message is pretty clear, conservatism has never been stronger than it is today and we are taking our country back…”
The winners from the primary tonight will square off in the November election. All 150 seats in the Texas House, 16 seats of 31 in the Texas State Senate and all 35 seats in the U.S House of Representatives will be on the ballot.
In the November elections: Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst will face Democratic challenger Linda Chavez-Thompson; Attorney General Greg Abbott will face Democratic challenger Barbara Ann Radnofsky; and Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson will face Democratic challenger Hector Uribe. Comptroller Susan Combs has no challengers in either the primary or general election.
There were twenty-four Texas House members that had primary opponents – 17 Republicans and 7 Democrats. Look for more analysis on the final election results, including runoffs, in the next Election Flash.