shepard: fox news is america s election headquarters. we are watching a big contest right now in texas. the republican primary for the governor s seat there, governor rick perry is facing off against senator kay bailey hutchinson. the two texas power houses really in republican politics. but the race is apparently not as close as some of the analysts initially predicted. campaign carl cameron is in the picturesque town of drift wood texas tonight. polls are still open. you can tell us what s up? yeah, rick perry has had a lead in the polls. double digits leading into election day. not question about whether he will be the top vote getter. kay bailey hutchinson is likely to come in second. third candidate debra medina she is not much of a contender with single digits. the question is whether perry can reach 50% of the vote and avoid run off and win outright. folks in the hutchinson campaign think that s possible tonight.
and to find out how you can help relief efforts in chile, check out our website, helpchile.msnbc.com. coming up, yet another profile today of rahm emanuel, the white house chief of staff. what s it like when the chief of staff and west wing drama is sucking up all of the media oxygen? up next, we ll get perspective with ken duberstein. and later we ll talk the state of the economy with the architect of those bush tax cuts, former white house economic adviser, glenn hubbard. plus, from former vp candidate to author and now late-night comedian. sarah palin goes for the laughs with leno. hey, jay, we re going old school tonight. but first, a look ahead at the president s schedule. we told you the big event today. that s health care. he s also hosting a bunch of blue dogs at the white house later tonight. little cocktails and arm twisting. you re watching the daily rundown on msnbc.
compartment debra medina. with a whopping 2% of the vote counted, governor perry is leading with 53%, governor hutchison has 30%. if no one wins by a clear majority, there will be a runoff election on april 13th. the winner of that republican race will face bill white in november. the associated press is declaring that bill white has defeated his primary challenger today. as having to decide to go for it? at the hartford, we help businesses of all kinds. feel confident doing what they do best. by protecting your business, your property, your people. you ve counted on us for 200 years. let s embrace tomorrow. and with the hartford behind you, achieve what s ahead of you. achieve what s ahead of you. there s a home by the sea somewhere in america. there s a home by the sea powered by the wind on the plains.
welcome back. perry touched a rich well of anti-washington anger to win the republican primary last night. perry actually got 51% of the vote. sthor kay bailey hutchison won 30% and tea party favorite debra medina 18% of the vote. perry will face former houston mayor bill white in the fall. white crushed hair care mag gnat winning 76% of the vote. wayne slater is a senior political writer for the dallas morning news. he joins us from austin and, wayne, what a night in us continu austin. i think people thought it would be closer between senator hutchison and the governor. i think a lot of people thought it was going to be closer. when i was traveling with both candidates over the weekend it was pretty well accepted that there would probably not be a run-off. this was a big win for rick perry. this was a big win for the sort of anti-washington tea party movement message, and that s
the president signed the measure late last night expressing his thanks to both republican and democratic senators who helped end the bunning roadblock. and now the senate will get back to work on a larger $100 billion bill to extend popular tax breaks and extend longer jobless benefits. there is no need for a run-off in the texas primaries. incumbent governor rick perry won 51% of the vote beating his two republican challengers, senator kay bailey hutchison and debra medina. perry is seeking an unprecedented third four-year term. he will face democrat bill white, a former houston mayor. white secured 76% of the vote leaving his closest challenger with just 13%. still ahead this hour, same sex marriage is now legal here in the nation s capital. details ahead in our morning rush. also, why president obama is being compared to snookie from the jersey shore.