New blog on the scene... the race to replace Kay...

This new blog called Replacing Kay Bailey is not my doing although it looks a lot like Rick vs. Kay design wise...

http://replacingkaybailey.blogspot.com/

Interesting... the senate race will get heated in the coming months I predict... and it doesn't really matter who the Democrats put up in 2012... the winner of the Republican primary will be the winner of the general election...

The logic then becomes which candidate is the most conservative and can send the biggest message to Washington... right now the grassroots heat seems to be with Michael Williams and Ted Cruz... with Roger Williams maybe a bit lagging behind those two...

Tom Leppert's run thus far as been fraught with problems but he has a lot of wealthy associates he can tap for donations... Elizabeth Ames Jones had a state wide tour nobody showed up to but she may be able to raise some money who knows...

The rumor mill is also saying that Dewhurst may just be comfortable as Liet. Governor for now and may run for Rick's spot in 4 years... although if he gets into the senate race he is probably the front runner based on name and money.

Others like Craig James are probably non starters... but he has good name identification and a good amount of money...

It will be interesting to follow along. I think the first quarter FEC reports are somewhat revealing but not really all that much... there are a couple of candidates who can compete with or without money... others will need to raise a lot more than a measly million dollars to be competitive with Dewhurst should he get into the race... I would also caution reading too much into the first quarter numbers since some candidates were pushing raising money the whole time and others weren't... the next quarter will probably get more interesting, and the aggregate of all the quarters will start to add up pretty quickly...

Rick the 2012 frontrunner?

What?

Among some big name governors Rick is in the lead according to a new poll... (link). Excerpt follows...

The Washington Whispers Poll has discovered a new Republican 2012 contender: Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Considered a very long shot by GOP pundits and political analysts, nearly one in three of those in our poll chose Perry as the sitting governor most suited to challenger President Obama.

By getting 29 percent to choose him, the two-term Perry shows that he could be a force in the upcoming Republican primaries, though it also suggests that voters aren't satisfied with the more established GOP names in the 2012 field.

The poll was also good news for New Jersey Chris Christie and Indiana Sen. Mitch Daniels, Christie won 27 percent, Daniels 22 percent, as the governors ready to run against Obama.

But our Synovate eNation Internet poll was more bad news for Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, who's planning to run for president. As in other polls, Barbour came in last in the Whispers poll, taking just 10 percent. Even little-known South Carolina first-term Gov. Nikki Haley beat him with 12 percent.

Governors are back on top of the Republican presidential heap as voters look for a 2012 nominee. Which sitting governor is best suited to challenge President Obama?

Texas Gov. Rick Perry 29%

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie 27%

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels 22%

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley 12%

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour 10%

Source: The Synovate eNation Internet poll was conducted March 25-29 among 1,000 nationally representative households by global market research firm Synovate.

Are you shocked by this?

I would have thought Barbour was higher... This poll really doesn't include former governors or current Congress men and women... but among current governors Rick gets the highest marks...