News 8
Survey gives glimpse of March primary 
03:16 PM CST on Tuesday, November 3, 2009
TexasTribune.org and the University of Texas released a new poll Tuesday on election trends and the gubernatorial primary race in March.
In an Internet survey of 800 registered voters, Republican Gov. Rick Perry has a big lead with 42 percent of self-identified Republican primary voters.
U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison has 30 percent and Debra Medina has 7 percent.
On the Democratic side, the leading contenders are Kinky Friedman with 19 percent, followed by Tom Schieffer with 10 percent. Democratic candidate Hank Gilbert has three-tenths of a percent.
Vince Leibowitz, a spokesman for the Gilbert campaign, called the poll "a complete and total joke." He questioned the accuracy and methodology of the company conducting the survey.
As for approval ratings, the Texas Tribune/UT poll put Sen. Hutchison at 39 percent, while Gov. Perry is at 36 percent.
