UT Online Poll shows Perry leading Kay by 12 points

Jason Embry at the Austin American-Statesman reports this morning that:

Gov. Rick Perry leads U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison by 12 points among voters who say they intend to vote in the Republican primary next March, according to an online poll that the University of Texas at Austin will release today.

The numbers:

Perry: 38 percent

Hutchison: 26 percent

Undecided or supporting someone else: 34 percent

Among registered voters, Perry is up 38-27.

The poll — like others in recent weeks — shows a significant surge for Perry over the last several months. Consider that in the same poll released in March, Hutchison led 37 percent to 29 percent. At least for now, these numbers indicate that Perry’s aggressive anti-Washington stance in recent months has helped him considerably with GOP voters, and while Hutchison’s limited public engagement in the race has not.

At the same time, we must stress the election is eight months away and the campaign really has not fully begun.