In the Republican race for governor:
Kay Bailey Hutchison

The Republican race for governor features two public servants with long political resumes and a radical conservative activist with little political experience but strong grassroots support.

Conventional wisdom long held that U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and Governor Rick Perry would duel to the finish, but Debra Medina’s meteoric rise temporarily shook up the race. Medina, a rabid anti-government crusader, seemed for a time to be a serious contender, but her recent public contemplation of 9/11 conspiracy theories quickly made her candidacy a moot point.

Hutchison presents a much stronger challenge to the incumbent governor. She’s won four elections to the U.S. Senate, all by a comfortable margin—she’s never garnered less than 60 percent of the vote.  Prior to joining the Senate she served as a Texas legislator and state treasurer.

In her long and distinguished career, Hutchison has proven herself a moderate willing to break ranks with her party. She calls herself pro-choice and believes that Roe v. Wade was the correct decision, although she supports a number of restrictions to abortion rights. During the health care debate, Hutchison opposed her party’s stall tactics. She’s also funneled hundreds of millions of dollars in appropriations to the state.

Which isn’t to say Hutchison doesn’t boast conservative credentials. Most notably, she’s worked to expand gun rights, especially in the District of Columbia. A graduate of the University of Texas law school, Hutchison filed an amicus curiae in the landmark case DC v. Heller.

Perry has done a fine job as Texas’s governor. His pro-business economic policies have helped Texas weather the current recession better than most states. His strong support of state sovereignty and decent gubernatorial record have led a number of people to float his name for a potential run for the presidency in 2012.

While both candidates could do a fine job as governor, Hutchison’s moderation and even temperament make her better suited to run the state’s government. Her campaign has consistently looked forward to the future while Perry’s has remained mostly negative. Her statements have been far more temperate than her opponent’s—Perry once publicly flirted with the idea of secession. At a time of increasing political division, Hutchison is far more likely than Perry to bring a more cordial tone to Austin politics.

In the Republican race for governor, The Daily Campus endorses Kay Bailey Hutchison.

In the Democratic race for governor:
Bill White

The Democratic primary for the Texas governor’s seat will feature seven candidates on the ballot, but only two, Bill White and Farouk Shami, have sufficiently large, viable campaigns to be considered serious contenders.

White is a former businessman, as well as a former U.S. deputy secretary of energy in the Clinton administration. White most recently served as the mayor of Houston, where he was reelected twice with margins of more than 85 percent. As mayor, White worked to reduce the dropout rate in schools, decrease toxic air pollution and increase transportation safety.

He also directed Houston’s efforts to help the survivors of Hurricane Katrina (and Rita and Ike), which led the John F. Kennedy Foundation to give him a Profile in Courage Award.
Shami, on the other hand, came to the United States from Palestine in 1965 and eventually became a hair care magnate. His company, Farouk Systems, Inc., is responsible for many products such as BioSilk and CHI.

White may not be as personable as Republican contender Rick Perry, but his serious and intelligent approach to getting things done could help him win the general election. Shami’s campaign, on the other hand, is floundering. Recent weeks have seen top campaign staffers quit, Shami saying things such as “Without Mexicans, you know, it would be like a day without sunshine in our state” and the governor-hopeful responding thusly when asked whether there was a government conspiracy in the 9/11 attacks: “I’m not saying yes or no because I don’t know the truth.”

Shami keeps things interesting, for sure, but in this governor’s race, any Democratic candidate would need to be a strong, serious competitor to actually make it into office. Shami’s words and actions have not shown he is up to the job.

White has demonstrated otherwise. When pitted against Shami, it is clear that White is the only candidate who can face the Republican contender in the general election. His actions as mayor of Houston show that he is an able, agile leader who can govern the state of Texas with authority.

The Daily Campus endorses Bill White in the Democratic primary.