TX: Public Policy Polling: Perry only leads Obama by single digits

[The_Texas_Libertarian]

I'm not sure why this poll is a surprise to anyone. Perry usually get something like 55% of the vote even on his best elections with the most favorable GOP environment. I expect he'd get 54-55% or so in a general election with Obama getting 44-45%.

It's because the conservatives expect Texas to always remain a safe R state.  The idea that the margin would be close in the President's reelection makes the conservatives cringe because they realize Texas could change for them in the next few cycles and it would be a problem for the GOP

[pbrower2a]

Scandals create the possibility of surprising victories for the "outsider" Party.  In Texas that means Democrats.

Rick Perry has increasingly run Texas as if it were a single-Party dictatorship... and while such has not unraveled as quickly as was the case in Wisconsin, it can.

Rick Perry has gotten rich off many of his business dealings that pass the stink test only if they are covered up.

[freepcrusher]

i've always said that as goes Fort Bend County so does Texas. When the democrats can finally break through and flip the county then Texas will "come home" to the democratic party.

[izixs]

If indeed Texas is drifting away from the Republicans, as pretty much the core corner stone of their presidential politics it might encourage them to shift their message in tune with it, or else fight for a new corner stone to be the big safe state they can rely on. I have a feeling they'll try for the later but would probably be smarter to go with the former. For a new corner stone to emerge to be their counter to CA they'd either have to pull off some wizardy to make Florida forever hard right or to knit together a couple large states that aren't already in their camp full time (like a major shift in the rust belt). The problem comes with what's been going down this year with the strong backlash against republican governors there. Folks are less likely to change their mind if they're constantly challenged, and in these cases they're being constantly challenged by Walker and company.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

i've always said that as goes Fort Bend County so does Texas. When the democrats can finally break through and flip the county then Texas will "come home" to the democratic party.

Obama could've easily won the county and still lost the state to McCain.