GUBERNATORIAL contests in Texas and California, the two most populous states in the US, exemplify the anti-Washington, anti-career politician mood that is sweeping the country.
On Tuesday night Rick Perry, the Republican governor of Texas, triumphed over Republican Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and Debra Medina, a Tea Party movement activist, to win the Republican nomination for the November gubernatorial election.
Mr Perry, who replaced George W Bush when the latter became president in 2000, was originally expected to lose to Ms Hutchison, who has been a Texas senator for the past 16 years.
In what is being called “the year of the angry voter”, Mr Perry portrayed Ms Hutchison as a profligate “creature of Washington”. Ms Hutchison had been endorsed by Mr Bush, former vice-president Dick Cheney and former secretary of state James Baker.
“This election was about Texans sending a message to Washington: stop spending our money,” Mr Perry said in his victory speech.
Ms Hutchison was branded “Kay Bailout Hutchison”, although she voted against the second bank bailout Bill and the $787 billion stimulus Bill. Mr Perry refused to accept stimulus funds for Texas, and attacked Ms Hutchison for bringing federal projects to the state.
Mr Perry won 51 per cent of the Republican vote; Ms Hutchison 30 per cent and Ms Medina, the Tea Party activist, 19 per cent. Ms Medina’s score was considered surprisingly high. A nurse, she was unknown and had only a fraction of the campaign funds garnered by Mr Perry and Ms Hutchison.
Mr Perry’s victory was a warning to the Republican establishment that they are in danger of losing to more right-wing candidates in the November 2nd mid-terms. Mr Perry ingratiated himself with the Tea Party movement by attending their rallies last spring, and expressed sympathy for Texans who want to secede from the union. The Tea Party opposes a strong federal government, taxation, abortion and gun control.
When he announced his candidacy on Tuesday, the former California governor Jerry Brown vaunted his 40-year career in government. “Our state is in serious trouble and the next governor must have the preparation and the knowledge and the know-how to get California working again,” Mr Brown said.
But Meg Whitman, the leading Republican contender and a former head of the internet shopping website eBay, immediately attempted to turn Mr Brown’s experience into a handicap.
He was governor of California from 1975 until 1983 and has held several high offices at municipal and state level. Ms Whitman called Mr Brown’s career “a trail of failed experiments, big-government spending and higher taxes”. At least three Republican candidates in California are former business executives from the information techology sector.