2010: Perry by 8 in Rasmussen Poll

Gov. Rick Perry leads Bill White by 8 percentage points, 51 to 43, in a Rasmussen Reports poll released Saturday. Two percent of respondents preferred a different candidate, and 5 percent declared themselves undecided. (Yes, the total is 101 percent; presumably it's the result of rounding.)

Two weeks ago, Rasmussen reported a Perry lead of 11 points, 53 to 42. Noting the narrowing of the race, the pollster's characterization of the Texas gubernatorial race was downgraded from "Solid Republican" to "Leans Republican."

The survey of 500 likely voters was conducted on October 21 and has a margin of error of +/- 4 percent.