Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX), who was being challenged in the Republican primary by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Tea Party activist Debra Medina, has won renomination — not just leading his competitors, but apparently surpassing the 50 percent of the vote needed to win outright and avoid a runoff.
It is not yet official that Perry truly did win more than 50% of the vote — but it appears very likely. And in any case, Hutchison has conceded the race.
With 62% of precincts reporting on the Secretary of State’s website, Perry has 51.36%, Hutchison 30.69%, and Medina 17.94%. Keep in mind that this represents far more than 62% of the actual vote. In Texas, the early votes are tabulated as if they were a precinct within each county. What this meant was that the first 5% or so of precincts represented several hundred thousand votes in the GOP primary, spread throughout the state.
This provided both a huge sample of votes — nearly half of what has reported so far — and it served to even out potential geographic distortions from some precincts reporting later than others.
In her concession speech, Hutchison fully endorsed Perry: “Now we must unite. We must win Texas for Republicans and our conservative principles in November…. A contested primary will naturally leave some hard feelings, but I ask my supporters tonight, all through Texas, to join me and unite behind Gov. Perry. That is what will be best, for all of us and for Texas. Our party must come together.”
In his victory speech, Perry boasted: “The message is pretty clear. Conservatism has never been stronger than it is today. And we’re taking our country back — one vote at a time, one election at a time!”
Perry now faces Houston Mayor Bill White. The TPM Poll Average, composed of poll data conducted before tonight’s primary, has Perry leading White in a general election, by a margin of 48.3%-40.5%.
