Debra Medina of Beeville 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 percent 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 had some of his other supporters working in her campaign.
Despite being viewed as out of the mainstream, Medina garnered 18.6 percent of the votes in the Republican primary.
Her proposals included promoting a statewide ballot initiative to impose term limits. The other statewide initiatives were:
- Life
- Spending
- Property rights
- State sovereignty
- Party platform
According to The Dallas Morning News, 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.