The Midday Brief: Oct. 5, 2010

• "Texans tend to be fiscally conservative, but are relatively moderate when it comes to many social issues, a new poll by the Texas Lyceum found." — Poll: Texans tend to be fiscally conservative, socially moderate, The Dallas Morning News

• "The Democratic candidate for Agricultural Commissioner is accusing the incumbent of using feral hogs as a political prop." — Gilbert accusing Staples of hogging the limelight, PoliTex

• "Is this a scandal? At the very least, it’s sleazy. There is an appearance of impropriety. But it is going to take more than appearances to derail [Rick] Perry’s re-election drive. He has to have crossed the line into illegality, and I don’t see clear-cut evidence that he has done so." — The emerging Emerging Technology Fund “scandal," BurkaBlog

• "If you put this [poll] together with the latest fundraising numbers, White is fading on all fronts. The next four weeks will be a long twilight. And if [Bill] White collapses, what happens to Democratic legislative candidates? White needed to stay competitive at least until the start of early voting. It doesn’t look like that is going to happen." — PoliticalWire: “Perry pulls away in Texas," BurkaBlog

• "American Crossroads — a conservative federal political committee linked to Karl Rove and largely funded by three Texas billionaires — has put $600,000 into the Texas-registered Republican State Leadership Committee PAC (RSLC-PAC), according to Texas Ethics Commission reports." — American Crossroads gives $600,000 to Texas political committee, The Texas Independent

New in The Texas Tribune:

• "The major party gubernatorial candidates' 30-day campaign reports are now available online, offering political observers more detail about their fundraising from July 1 to Sept. 23." — Reports Detail White, Perry Fundraising

• "The Back to Basics PAC, which has repeatedly attacked GOP Gov. Rick Perry during the general election cycle in ads on TV and in print, has turned its sights on the incumbent's unwillingness to debate his Democratic opponent, Bill White." — Newspaper Ad Hits Perry on Not Debating

• "The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, concerned more this cycle about keeping incumbents in office than winning new seats, is honoring its promise to make its presence felt in CD-23, hitting GOP challenger Francisco "Quico" Canseco as he attempts to oust U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-San Antonio." — National Democrats Air Ad Against Quico Canseco

• "Democratic candidates who fear waning support during what political analysts call an 'anti-incumbent' atmosphere can still look to Latino voters for support, according to a Pew Hispanic Center study released today." — Latino Support for Democrats Still Strong