Medina Invited to Second Debate

GOP gubernatorial candidate Debra Medina will be part of a January 29 debate in Dallas with Gov. Rick Perry and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, according to the Dallas Morning News. Medina was initially excluded from the debate, based on low poll numbers.

However, the debate's organizers, the Dallas Morning News and Belo Corp., said that Medina had been invited based on a newly updated Rasmussen poll conducted after the last debate, which showed Medina drawing support from 12 percent of expected voters. Mike Devlin, president and general manager of WFAA-TV in Dallas, said that factoring in the 3.5 percent margin of error brought Medina within the required 15 percent of public support.

The 15 percent number is the minimum used by the Commission on Presidential Debates. The organizers also factor in whether the candidate has received substantial financial support from varied sources, and whether or not the candidate has held public office in the past or received a significant amount of votes for such an office.

The Rasmussen poll, which included 831 people likely to vote in the GOP primary, showed Perry with 43 percent of voters behind him, Hutchison with 33 percent, and 11 percent unsure of who they would vote for. The poll was conducted January 17.

The hour-long debate will air January 29 at 7pm locally on KVUE.