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Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Debra Medina

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Enlarge photo by: Bob Daemmerich

Medina on the campaign trail in San Antonio at Silo Elevated Cuisine & Bar

Debra Medina of Beeville, Texas, is a former Wharton County Republican chair and a Republican candidate for governor in 2010. She lost the March 2, 2010 primary with 18.58% of the vote. A dark horse in the race, she persistently polled in the single digits behind the better-known, better-funded Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison until the two televised debates in January and February, when her popularity rose. She was favored in some polls by more than 20 percent of likely Republican voters.

Medina's rise may have been blunted by Feb 12, 2010 radio interview with Glenn Beck, in which she did not immediately denouce the theory that the U.S. government was involved in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

According to the Houston Chronicle, Medina has her roots in the libertarian side of the Republican party. She has campaigned in the past for U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Clute, and she has some of his other supporters working in her campaign.

Despite being viewed as out of the mainstream, Medina's political potential in the run up to the 2010 primary includes the possibility of forcing a runoff between rivals Perry and Hutchison.

Her proposals include promoting a statewide ballot initiative to impose term limits. The other statewide initiatives (see her detailed versions here) are:

  • Life
  • Spending
  • Property rights
  • State sovereignty
  • Party platform

According to her Web site, Medina is married with two adult children. Medina received a nursing degree from Baptist Memorial Hospital System in 1984 and a bachelor's degree in business management from Le Tourneau University in 1995.

She is currently the president and CEP of Prudentia Inc., a medical claims management and legal consulting firm.

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