"Fringe Candidate?"

Jillian Bandes | February 11, 2010 5:28 PM

Meredith just mentioned Debra Medina's refusal to disavow 9/11 truthers. What's also interesting is Medina's coinciding rise in the polls in her campaign to win the Republican primary in the Texas governor race. Medina has almost edged passed Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson, who is in second place, after incumbant Gov. Rick Perry.

According to the latest poll out of Public Policy Polling, Perry is at 42%, Hutchinson is at 28%, and Medina is at 24%. That isn't enough for Perry to avoid a runoff; in Texas, a primary candidate needs to get at least 50% of the vote before receiving the nomination. That means the "fringe candidate" is now threatening to at least mess with the plans of the incumbant, and potentially ruin the campaign of another establishment candidate.