AP: Texas race for gov. a Republican slugfest

Kelley Shannon at the Associated Press captured in one word what the upcoming Republican gubernatorial race is turning out to be so far, a "slugfest".

Shannon's article delves into state of fundraising for both campaigns.

Even if Perry trails in money this summer — a real possibility because he couldn't accept donations all spring but Hutchison could — he'll likely catch up quickly because of established donors who are willing to give him as much as $100,000 per four-year term, said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University.

"This is a race that will see larger amounts of money spent in the primary, maybe, than in the general election. It's going to be a slugfest between Perry and Hutchison," Jillson said.

Shannon's article continues, with spokespersons from both campaigns.

Hutchison held an early money lead at the start of this year, with nearly $8 million to Perry's $6.6 million in the bank. Most of Hutchison's total was transferred from her federal campaign account.

Since then, she's been working on more state fundraising. She named John Nau, a Houston businessman and former Perry backer, as her finance chairman. She sent out a fundraising letter that sounded the national Republican theme but referred to Perry in saying, "We simply can't afford this type of leadership negatively defining our party for four more years."

Hutchison is stepping up complaints that the two-term governor is showing "hypocrisy" on issues ranging from property rights to the state's business tax.

"Real leaders don't grandstand on a temporary fix to the problem of their own making. This is a new height of hypocrisy even for Rick Perry," Hutchison spokesman Hans Klingler said this month when Perry signed a law revising the business tax that he backed when it was crafted.

Perry spokesman Mark Miner said the Hutchison accusations ring hollow.

"It's easy to criticize when you've been on the sidelines," Miner said. Perry's camp will continue to point out Hutchison's long history in Washington and link her to federal bailouts and deficit spending, Miner said.

"We'll continue to highlight the differences between someone who's been in Washington and someone like the governor who's been in Texas working to improve the lives of all Texans," Miner said.

So the Parry camp continues down the destructive path of claiming Senator Hutchison is a 'Washington outsider' and some kind of federal government cowgirl. So far, it may be playing out okay on talk radio, but as Kay's campaign kicks into full throttle, we won't be surprised to see her talking about how out of touch Perry with reality.