Posted by By Shawn Williams – Dallas South News Editor
I’m getting tired of reading that Governor Rick Perry’s primary victory was some sort of anti-Washington mandate. While that may have been part of they thinking of some voters, it was not the overall reason why he defeated Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison et. al. Here’s my take:
#5 – He’s the Governor
Just look at any election that took place on yesterday and you will find that most of the folks who had an (I ) by their name signifying they were incumbents won hands down. That tends to be the case when Democrats and Republicans square off, but in primary races it’s pretty much a hard and fast rule.
#4 – Rick Perry is a likeable guy
It hurts me to write that, but he is. When you get past the crazy talk and grandstanding, and just sit down and chat with the guy, he’s not half bad. There are photos of me chatting it up with Rick P. floating around that I hope never see the light of day.
Senator Hutchison was the candidate who came across as the candidate you would least likely want to meet at Chili’s for chips and salsa. It has nothing to do with how long she’s been in Washington. Senator Hutchison just doesn’t seem as approachable as Medina, Shami, White, or anyone else when it came to pressing the flesh.
#3 – Senator Hutchison didn’t quit her day job
I was one of many who was glad to hear that Senator Hutchison was entering the governor’s race. From the time she formed her exploratory committee until I got in my car to vote on yesterday, I considered casting a closeted vote in the Republican Primary. But I was never able to get past Hutchison’s decision not to leave the U.S. Senate. For those folks like me who considered her a bit of a change, every vote she cast showed Senator Hutchison wasn’t interested in expanding her base of voters. And for many other voters it just seemed weird.
#2 – KBH Banking on Toll Roads
While Senator Hutchison’s toll road ads were thought provoking, it seemed as if she became the Toll Road candidate. What about education? What about jobs? Though a lot of Republican voters were not interested in hearing about those things, they sure weren’t going to make up their minds based on a campaign against toll roads. She wasn’t willing to defend her record in the Senate. She helped bring much needed stimulus dollars to Texas while Gov. Perry let’s our infrastructure suffer, but wasn’t willing to risk the fallout. With the distance between her and Perry on Election Day, I say what would it have hurt? What was her message ultimately? A road to nowhere.
#1 -Senator Hutchison’s cold feet
Even if Senator Hutchison wanted to stay in the Senate, she should have jumped in the race with both feet early on. All of the speculation and avoiding the issue just made matters worse. As she delayed her decision there was more noise that she had to deal with in getting her message (or lack there of) through. I just never looked at Senator Hutchison and thought that she REALLY wanted to be Governor of Texas. It always seemed more like something that would be good for her to do if the opportunity presented itself. There’s no doubt Governor Perry wants to stay in office forever, what else is he gonna do?
This was not about Washington, it was about Perry, Hutchison, and….O.K…Medina.
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