Rick surges into double digit lead in Rasmussen...

On Friday I blogged on a Democrat poll showing Rick above 50% and Bill White below 40% (link)... that poll got very little if any traction and it was taken in early April so it seemed a little bit old and possibly less reflective of reality than this new poll by Rasmussen (link). Excerpt follows...

Texas Governor Rick Perry earns himself a little more breathing room this month, crossing the 50% mark for the first time in his bid for reelection against Democrat Bill White.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in Texas shows the Republican incumbent with 51% support, while White earns 38%, his poorest showing to date. A month ago, Perry held a modest 48% to 44% advantage.

Perry, who is seeking an unprecedented third term as governor, has been sharply critical of the federal government in recent months and more specifically of the national health care bill passed by Democrats in Congress. Sixty-three percent (63%) of Texas voters favor repeal of the health care law while only 33% oppose repeal. Opposition to the health care law is even higher in Texas than it is nationally.

The Texas figures include 53% who Strongly Favor Repeal and 24% who are Strongly Opposed.

Seventy-seven percent (77%) of those who Strongly Favor repeal support Perry. Eighty-four percent (84%) of the smaller group who Strongly Oppose repeal back White.

No wonder Bill White is running television ads in Houston and apparently a few other places in Texas.

I think it is really great that despite mainstream media news coverage favoring Bill White and bashing Rick, Rick has surged... Rasmussen showed at the end of March that Bill White had received positive coverage in 4 out of 5 stories talking about him while Rick received majority negative coverage (link). Excerpt follows...

For the week ending Sunday, March 28, 2010, 79.5% of the media mentions for White were positive, and only 20.5% were negative.

For Perry, during the same time frame, the coverage was far more mixed: 45.6% of the media mentions were positive, and 54.4% were negative.

I love it.

I love to witness the end of mainstream media legitimacy and relevance... Rick has pushed Bill White downward with social marketing and online activities... despite the msm mostly ignoring Bill White's unethical financial record, his poor record as a manager of a large city, and his ambiguous but mostly liberal views on the major issues of our time... all while rehashing hits against Rick on things like living in a rental mansion while the governor's mansion is being renovated due to the arson there... yawn...

Even if Bill White gets all of the undecided vote... which is unlikely... he still does not crack 45%...