The Midday Brief: Sept. 7, 2010

Your afternoon reading:

• "A new survey commissioned by the consumer watchdog group Texas Watch has found Gov. Rick Perry and Democrat Bill White in a statistical tie in the governor's race." — Consumer poll shows Perry, White essentially tied, Texas Politics

• "Independent political handicapper Stu Rothenberg has downgraded Rep. Chet Edwards' reelection prospects — not a good sign for the 10-term Waco Democrat." — Rep. Chet Edwards vs Bill Flores is now a "Lean Republican" contest, handicapper says, Trail Blazers

• "GOP candidate Bill Flores hit back hard against Rep. Chet Edwards' latest campaign ad today, calling it 'outright false and defamatory.'" — Flores, Edwards spar over latest ad alleging layoffs, Trail Blazers

• "Senate leaders have suggested it's an exaggeration. Gov. Rick Perry says it was plucked from thin air. But House Speaker Joe Straus has embraced his budget chairman's estimate that Texas in the next two year budget faces an $18 billion shortfall — and then some, maybe, Straus added last week." — Straus, House stick to guns on $18 bil estimate, Trail Blazers

• "Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, is asking Comptroller Susan Combs to formally update the revenue estimate for the current two-year budget period." — Senator to comptroller: Keep us from flying blind, Texas Politics

New in The Texas Tribune:

• "And now for something completely different: Rick Perry and Bill White are virtually tied in the race for governor, according to a poll done for Texas Watch by Republican pollster Hill Research Consultants." — Hill Research Survey Shows Governor Race Tied

• Ask anybody — from the president of the United States to your high school guidance counselor — and you'll probably hear the same, seemingly obvious thing: Higher education is the key to financial advancement. But is everybody going to college a realistic goal? And would the world really be better if we achieved it? — Everybody Going to College Isn't Realistic