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In Texas governor showdown, nice doesn't cut it

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In Texas governor showdown, nice doesn't cut it In Texas governor showdown, nice doesn't cut it HOUSTON, March 2 (Reuters) - Tuesday's primary election to decide which Republican will run for Texas governor has put a spotlight on the party's national identity crisis after it lost the White House to Democrats in 2008.

One one side of the showdown is incumbent Rick Perry,google优化, the state's longest-serving governor,Hydraulic pumprepresenting social conservatives rooted in the politics of former President Ronald Reagan.

On the other is Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, a popular figure who has aimed at embracing more moderate Republicans and gained the endorsement of prominent party members like former President George H.W. Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney.

As the race heated up in 2009, Hutchison led Perry in opinion polls as the Republican favorite for governor of the second most populous U.S. state after California. But Perry has surged to a commanding lead by mobilizing his party's most conservative members and harnessing disenchantment with Washington-style politics and President Barack Obama that resonates with many Texans.

A University of Texas poll conducted in February put Perry well ahead with 45 percent of likely voters, versus 21 percent for Hutchison and 19 percent for Debra Medina, #xa conservative favored by many Tea Party Republicans.Hydraulic pump Tea Partiers grabbed headlines last year with protests against Obama's healthcare overhaul drive and $787 billion economic stimulus package.

Perry could win the primary outright and avoid an April runoff if he gains more than 50 percent of Tuesday's vote.

"He went as hard and as far right as you can get, understanding the Republican primary electorate," said Larry Sabato, political science professor at the University of Virginia. "It worked like a charm."

Hutchison initially adopted a "big tent" approach by appealing to moderate "country club" Republicans, taking softer stances on hot-button issues like abortion and embryonic stem cell research.

In doing so, Hydraulic pumpshe has alienated hard-line conservatives who are more likely to turn out to vote in primary elections, said Mark Jones, #x chairman of the political science department at Rice University in Houston. 相关的主题文章：