Texas Democratic Party: Moving Texas Forward

Gov. Rick Perry and former Houston Mayor Bill White claimed their parties’ gubernatorial nominations Tuesday night, and the incumbent Republican will face his Democratic challenger in November’s general election.

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison conceded the GOP gubernatorial primary, congratulating Perry on his 11th consecutive statewide victory. White, meanwhile, had enough votes to call an early victory over Farouk Shami and five other Democrats, declaring, “We’re gonna have some fun, and Texans are going to come together.” Later, he sent a message about a conversation with Shami: “Just spoke to Farouk Shami. Very gracious. He’ll help me. I do like his idea of building solar panel factories in Texas.”

The GOP primary election caps two years of political skirmishing that escalated into a political war between Perry and Hutchison, the state’s senior U.S. senator. Debra Medina, a former Wharton County Republican Party chair with political ties to U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Surfside, joined the race last year and surged to prominence as disaffected conservatives found their voice in Tea Party and nullification rallies around the state.

Perry compared his victory to Republican gubernatorial victories in New Jersey and Virginia and to the landmark victory of Sen. Scott Brown in Massachusetts, in the former district of Sen. Ted Kennedy.

“There are some folks who watched (the national campaign) in 2008, and they started to celebrate what they thought to be the end of the Republican Party and the final nail in the coffin of American conservatism,” Perry said. “Well, there was a victory in New Jersey, a victory in Virginia, a victory in Massachusetts. Now there’s been a victory in Texas.

“I think the message is pretty clear,” Perry said, claiming the victory. “Conservatism has never been stronger than it is today. We’re taking our country back, one vote at a time, one election at a time.”

For more go to the Texas Tribune article.