Bell thinks Perry will beat KBH
Chris Bell thinks Perry will beat KBH:

Bell, a Houston city councilman who lost a mayor's race before winning a seat in Congress, has set up an exploratory committee. He can't wait to see if former Comptroller John Sharp or the 2002 nominee, Tony Sanchez of Laredo, or former Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, will chance running if they might wind up facing not Perry but Hutchison, or Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn.

Neither woman can cut into Perry's support from "the far right wing" enough to beat Perry in a Republican primary, but can "bloody" him, Bell said.

"I just don't want to have Rick Perry come staggering out of a Republican primary with us standing there with no one ready to go," Bell said in an Austin interview. He thinks Perry's beatable.

Bell predicts a Perry victory, and says so publicly.

Of course, it should be noted that it is in Bell's self-interest to predict a Perry victory: Bell knows he can't beat KBH, but might have a shot at beating Perry after a vicious primary.

But Bell is probably being honest: if he believes Perry will be the Republican nominee, then he has a greater incentive to run for governor.
- posted @ 11:40 PM permalink