The Midday Brief: Oct. 13, 2011

Your afternoon reading:

• "Anita Perry, campaigning for husband Rick Perry in South Carolina, suggests he's been 'brutalized' by the media and the GOP because of his faith. Perry is the most religiously expressive candidate in the Republican field. … Here's the full 15-minute appearance — a remarkable, emotional address threaded with religious references in which at one point (about 3 minutes in) she nearly breaks down, then (8 minutes in) makes the comments about the brutal campaign and later recalls someone who told Perry his political troubles were a divine test." — Anita Perry: Husband Rick Perry "brutalized" by media, the GOP because of his faith, The Dallas Morning News
  

• "The candidates will keep debating, but soon they'll also start running television ads that will reshape the conversations voters are having. The telegenic Perry and his team have proven in Texas that they know how to use television spots to move voters, and those ads offer Perry a chance to talk about the campaign in his terms instead of Charlie Rose's or Rick Santorum's." — Perry is down but not out, Austin American-Statesman

• "Ted Cruz announced today that he raised more than $1 million over the past three months in his run for the U.S. Senate.  A conservative Republican and former Texas Solicitor General, Cruz now has collected more than $2.8 million in total, he said." — Cruz raises $1 million for Senate bid, Austin American-Statesman

• "As expected, state Rep. Joe Driver, R-Garland, Thursday announced he would retire from the House when his term ends in 2013." — Joe Driver to retire from Texas House, The Dallas Morning News
  

• "State Rep. Mark Shelton, R-Fort Worth, officially jumped into the race for Senate District 10 Thursday and wasted no time trying to make the case that he's the Republican best suited to take on state Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth." — Shelton makes if official and comes out swinging, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

New in The Texas Tribune:

• "Lawyers for Michael Morton, whose 1987 murder conviction was officially overturned on Wednesday, are opposing what they contend is an effort by Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley to dismiss the case without a full investigation of alleged prosecutorial misconduct." — Morton Lawyers Object to Bradley's Rush in Morton Case