The Midday Brief: July 8, 2010

Your afternoon reading:

"GOP Gov. Rick Perry, a rancher before he got into government work at an early age, and Democratic challenger Bill White, a city boy whose saddle time has been accumulated on a bike, will participate in a jointish appearance today at a Texas Farm Bureau conference in San Marcos. Their speeches are separated by lunch and come right after Wizzie Brown discusses fire ant control. At stake, though it won't happen today, is the endorsement of the agricultural group that claims to represent more than 400,000 rural Texans. The endorsement comes through Texas AgFund, the bureau's political wing." — Political tractor pull: Ag endorsement could be up for grabs in Texas gubernatorial race, Austin American-Statesman

"The end may be near for the runaway gulf oil well, according to the most optimistic statement yet from a BP executive." — BP: Gulf oil spill could be stopped this month, The Washington Post

"The National Republican Congressional Committee launched a negative TV campaign today against one of the perennial thorns in its side — Democratic Rep. Chet Edwards of Waco." — NRCC launches ad campaign against Chet Edwards, Trail Blazers

New in The Texas Tribune:

"Bickering over whether to debate and under what terms — as Rick Perry and Bill White are doing now — is nothing new. In our multimedia look at the debates that have shaped Texas gubernatorial races since 1982, reluctant incumbents and memorable moments are hardly unusual. And in those races, the leading candidates have faced off, eventually, every time." — Texas Governor's Race Debates: A History

"State Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, took her fight against synthetic marijuana to FOX News this morning." — State Sen. Florence Shapiro Leads Fight Against K2