Students weigh in on Republican battle for GOP nomination

The Republican gubernatorial candidates dug in their heels and traded blows Friday during the second primary debate in Dallas.

The race between Gov. Rick Perry, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and up-and-coming candidate Debra Medina heated up when support for Medina rose from 4 percent to 12 percent in a Rasmussen poll after the Jan. 14 debate.

UT students of all political stripes watched and reacted to the debate, offering their own analysis.

“A memorable moment was when Perry was asked if he would stay in [office] for four years, and he made a big deal about it being in God’s hands,” said College Republicans treasurer Geoffrey Geiger.

Geiger said he does not personally support any candidate yet because he believes there would be little difference in their styles of governing.

“At the end of the day, the debate is between Coke and Pepsi,” Geiger said.

Perry leads Hutchison in popular support 43 percent to 33 percent, according to Rasmussen polls. The senator lags despite campaign contributions from Ross Perot and endorsements from former presidents George W. Bush and George H. W. Bush.

Fourteen UT faculty members, including Nobel Prize winner and physics professor Steven Weinberg, have donated to Hutchison’s campaign while two faculty members have donated to Perry’s campaign, according to a race donations database compiled from information available on the Texas Ethics Commission.

University Democrats spokesman Michael Hurta said Hutchison failed to bring “new ideas to the table.”

“[Hutchison] took ideas that Rick Perry had, and Perry hasn’t done that much for us,” Hurta said. “As far as the Republican debate, I think we might just be seeing the Three Stooges again.”

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