Posted on 09/04/2002 7:35:33 AM PDT by Dog Gone
AUSTIN -- Democrat Tony Sanchez gained ground on Republican Gov. Rick Perry during the summer's exchange of televised attack ads, but Perry still holds onto a double-digit lead in the governor's race, the Scripps Howard Texas Poll shows.
Republicans also continue to lead, by varying margins, in other statewide races, shows the survey of likely voters. GOP nominees for U.S. Senate, lieutenant governor and attorney general all hold 5-percentage-point leads over their Democratic rivals.
Sanchez, a multimillionaire Laredo businessman who so far has invested more than $27 million of his wealth in his bid to unseat Perry, has narrowed the 20-percentage-point lead that Perry enjoyed in a similar poll published in June. But Perry still leads by 14 percentage points, 42 percent to 28 percent, with one-fourth of likely voters undecided.
Perry spokesman Ray Sullivan said that the governor was "gratified by all of the recent independent polls showing him with a double-digit lead." He said he expected the race to tighten.
But the Sanchez campaign, which contends the race is tied, tried to discredit the poll.
"The Texas Poll is a joke. It's become an embarrassment. This is a dead-even race. This poll is as deceptive as the governor and shouldn't be taken seriously by anyone," Sanchez spokesman Mark Sanders said.
Perry led by only 6 percentage points, 47 percent to 41 percent, in a competing poll released Tuesday by the political arm of the Texas Medical Association, which has endorsed Sanchez. That poll was conducted by Anzalone-Liszt Research Inc.
Sanchez spent much of the summer unleashing television commercials that battered Perry for accepting political donations from Enron Corp. and the insurance industry, as the Enron debacle continued to unfold andhomeowners insurance rates in Texas soared.
Perry shot back with TV ads attacking Sanchez over the laundering of drug money at the Democratic nominee's defunct savings and loan in the 1980s, although government investigators never accused Sanchez of any wrongdoing in the case.
Perry held a 30-percentage-point lead over Sanchez in the Texas Poll last fall, when the Laredo businessman formally kicked off his campaign. The Republican governor, who as lieutenant governor was promoted to the state's highest office after George W. Bush resigned to become president, also had a job approval rating of 67 percent.
Since then, the margin in the governor's race has slowly tightened, and Perry's job approval rating has dropped. Only 50 percent of likely voters responding to the latest survey thought Perry was doing a good or excellent job as governor, compared with 55 percent last spring and 63 percent last winter.
In the Senate race, Texas Attorney General John Cornyn, the Republican nominee, leads his Democratic opponent, former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk, by 5 percentage points, 37 percent to 32 percent, among likely voters, with 30 percent undecided, the latest poll indicates.
"We're confident that advantage will increase as voters learn more about the positions of both candidates on key issues," Cornyn spokesman Dave Beckwith said.
Kirk spokesman Justin Lonon called the poll results "good news," considering the advertising that Cornyn and Texas Republicans have been conducting in recent weeks.
The margin is identical to the lead Cornyn had in the Texas Poll in June. Cornyn, who faced only minor opposition for the Republican nomination, began advertising on television this summer, and the Texas Republican Party has sponsored at least two TV ads attacking Kirk.
Kirk, who would be the first black elected to the U.S. Senate from Texas, hasn't advertised on TV since last spring, when he defeated two viable opponents for the Democratic nomination.
In the lieutenant governor's race, Texas Land Commissioner David Dewhurst, the Republican nominee, leads Democratic former Comptroller John Sharp at 35 percent to 30 percent, with 34 percent undecided.
Dewhurst, a wealthy businessman, has spent several million dollars on TV advertising, but the race has been gradually narrowing since last fall, when the Texas Poll indicated a 17-percentage-point lead for Dewhurst. The poll in June showed 36 percent to 29 percent, favoring the Republican.
Sharp, who narrowly lost the lieutenant governor's race to Perry in 1998, has advertised only on radio so far.
Sharp spokeswoman Nicole Sherbert said the latest poll shows Dewhurst is in a "free fall and losing everything."
Dewhurst spokesman Nick Voinis said the poll confirms that voters are embracing the Republican's "positive message and vision for all Texans."
In the attorney general's race, Republican Greg Abbott, a former Texas Supreme Court justice, is leading Democrat Kirk Watson, a former mayor of Austin, by 30 percent to 25 percent, with 43 percent undecided,
The margin is similar to what Abbott has had since last winter.
In other statewide, nonjudicial races, the Texas Poll indicates:
· Comptroller Carole Keeton Rylander, a Republican, holds a lead of 45 percent to 22 percent over Democratic challenger Marty Akins, a lawyer and former University of Texas football star.
· Former state Sen. Jerry Patterson, a Republican from Harris County, leads with 33 percent to 23 percent over state Sen. David Bernsen of Beaumont, the Democratic nominee, in the land commissioner's race.
· Republican Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs is leading Democratic state Rep. Tom Ramsay of Mt. Vernon at 34 percent to 26 percent.
· Republican Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams is leading Sherry Boyles, former executive director of the Texas Democratic Party, 31 percent to 26 percent.
The Scripps Data Center conducted the Texas Poll by telephone Aug. 7-27. The sample of 756 likely general election voters included 32 percent Republicans, 27 percent Democrats and 30 percent independents. The rest declined to characterize their leanings. The ethnic breakdown was 68 percent Anglo, 22 percent Hispanic and 8 percent black.
The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
This article has more info about the poll itself than the other article posted.
Very few people are paying much attention to the races yet, except for the Governor's race. The other campaigns have either just begun or are still pretty low-key.
The only race that makes me nervous at all is for Lt. Gov. There, Dewhurst is ahead, but Sharp hasn't spend a dime that I've seen. Dewhurst has been campaigning since about April.
But perhaps you've heard. The article says Sharp has only advertised on radio so far.
Stick around Justin, there's a whole lot more good news like this comin your way...LOL
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