The Midday Brief: June 25, 2010

Your afternoon reading:

"A new poll from Texas Public Policy, a North Carolina firm with ties to Democrats, finds low approval ratings among all voters for U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison nearly four months after her failed attempt to oust Gov. Rick Perry, her fellow Republican." — Poll: Hutchison vulnerable if she runs again, Postcards

"A wide majority of Texans think Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) was wrong to apologize to BP, according to a new Public Policy Polling survey." — Poll: Texans say Joe Barton was wrong, Politico

"Perhaps to no one's surprise, Democrats jumped right in with a Joe Barton zinger as they gathered in this coastal city on the eve of their two-day state convention. 'It's good to be in a part of the Gulf that Joe Barton hasn't had to apologize to BP about,' said State Democratic Chairman Boyd Richie as he welcomed delegates and party officials to a convention-eve reception at the Texas State Aquarium." — Democrats waste no time zinging Barton, PoliTex

"The 'Evict Rick' singlewide, a campaign ploy by the Texas AFL-CIO to tease Gov. Rick Perry over the state's $9,000-plus rented executive mansion, was parked on the bayfront outside the American Bank Center Thursday." — Democrats back up trailer to unload attacks on Perry, PoliTex

New in The Texas Tribune:

"His campaign was criticized this week for failing to detail its expenditures. But Craig McDonald, who filed an ethics complaint on behalf of liberal watchdog group Texans for Public Justice, says there's a larger issue at play: the Perry administration's overall lack of openness. The governor's spokesperson says her boss has followed the rules — and that he's been as open as his predecessors." — Watchdog: Ethics Complaint Against Perry Highlights Transparency Issue

"Harris County has a voting problem, and the ethics reform lobbyist and campaign finance lawyer aims to do something about it. As he told the Tribune last week, he's behind a new nonpartisan voter registration drive that targets what he calculates are the 600,000 unregistered adult citizens there." — New Voter Registration Project Targets Harris County