As Debra Medina sat with her husband in their hometown campaign office in Wharton, Texas, watching the numbers come in, she knew that she was not going to be the next governor of the Lone Star state. In fact, the statewide support demonstrated for Mrs. Medina (18 percent) was not enough to force a run-off with incumbent Rick Perry.
With 98 percent of the vote counted, Governor Perry narrowly avoided a statutorily mandated run-off election by garnering just over 51 percent of the votes in Tuesday’s Republican Gubernatorial Primary election. According to the Texas Election Code, if any candidate fails to receive a majority of the votes cast in a contested election, then the top two vote-getters must face each other in a runoff to determine the party’s candidate in the general election. Rick Perry barely cleared that hurdle and will now face Bill White, the former mayor of Houston and winner of the Democratic Primary also held Tuesday.
Speaking to supporters and reporters gathered in Wharton to watch the results tabulate from across the state, Debra Medina praised her volunteers for their hard work and the remarkable demonstration of the determination to “restore liberty and prosperity to Texas.” Mrs. Medina assured the throng that while they may not have won the state house, they certainly were “winning the hearts and minds of fellow Texans.”
Noticeably, Mrs. Medina neither conceded nor congratulated Governor Perry for his victory. Fellow candidate, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, however, called Perry and conceded the election once the numbers were decidedly in his favor. Hutchison has not decided whether or not to keep her senate seat, despite promising voters that regardless of the outcome of Tuesday’s primary she would do just that.
While this electoral defeat is certainly deflating for the thousands of Medina supports throughout Texas and the United States, there is reason to rejoice even in the midst of mourning. Mrs. Medina’s message of restoring state sovereignty by firm resistance to the expansion of federal power is resonating across the nation and local lawmakers in nearly every state are boldly proclaiming their defense of the Tenth Amendment’s protection of the inviolable right of the states or the people to govern in all areas not specifically enumerated by the Constitution as the province of Congress.
Mrs. Medina made a statement on her campaign’s Facebook page wherein she states that she “remains committed to the fight,” declaring that “liberty and prosperity hang in the balance.” She ends with a flourish worthy of her noble effort: “Rest, regroup and ONWARD!”
The question remains: Onward toward what? There are those calling for Mrs. Medina to throw her hat into the ring for the senate seat that may or may not be vacated by Kay Bailey Hutchison. Understandably, Mrs. Medina has made no statement regarding this unlikely scenario, but her tireless canvassing of the state would unarguably redound to her benefit were such an undertaking be in her plans.
For now, Constitutionalists in Texas and elsewhere may take comfort in the fact that every major newspaper and television news outlet in America was forced to take notice of Debra Medina, a woman who before this campaign had never run for elective office. Mrs. Medina’s unwavering commitment to her convictions and her adamant refusal to be cowered by the coffers and the overwhelming budgets and boosters of her opponents is an example to all those who are willing to sacrifice their time and treasure in the defense of our great republic.
Well done, Mrs. Medina. Good luck in your future endeavors and thank you for your valiant and virtuous campaign.
Photo of Debra Medina: AP Images
Joe Wolverton, II, J.D.
Joe Wolverton, II, J.D. is The John Birch Society’s constitutional law scholar and is the author of three books: The Real James Madison, “What Degree of Madness?”: Madison’s Method to Make America STATES Again, and The Founders’ Recipe, an introduction to the writings of the 37 authors most often quoted by the Founding Generation. He hosts the YouTube channel “Teacher of Liberty” and the TikTok channel “Joe Wolverton JD.”.
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