The Evening Brief: May 10, 2012

New in The Texas Tribune:

• Palin Endorses Cruz in U.S. Senate Race: "Former Alaska Gov. and conservative icon Sarah Palin has endorsed former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz in his bid to succeed retiring U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison."

• In New Ad, Huckabee Praises Dewhurst's Anti-Abortion Record: "Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee praises U.S. Senate candidate David Dewhurst's anti-abortion credentials in a new television ad released Thursday."

• Addison Airs TV Ad, Declares Fight With Cruz Over Ron Paul Fans: "Funeral home director Glenn Addison, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, is airing a television ad in Austin and says supporters of U.S. Rep. Ron Paul are still up for grabs despite Paul's endorsement of former state Solicitor General Ted Cruz."

• Aycock Unveils Website to Talk School Accountability: "State Rep. Jimmie Don Aycock, R-Killeen, is launching a website to try to kickstart discussion on what will surely be a hot topic in the next legislative session: school accountability."

Culled:

• Pro-Dewhurst super PAC releases poll showing him at 57 percent (The Dallas Morning News): "Another day, another poll from a Dewhurst-backing group saying he's going to avoid a runoff. Rob Johnson, who was Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst's top aide and campaign manager before jumping to Gov. Rick Perry's 2010 re-election campaign, runs the Texas Conservatives Fund. On Thursday, it released a poll by Perception Insight Inc. of 800 GOP primary voters. The horse-race result: David Dewhurst 57%"

• Kirk Says He’s a One-Termer as U.S. Trade Rep (D Magazine): "Ron Kirk wound up accepting a position in the administration as the U.S. Trade Representative. Now it looks like, no matter how well he’s performed as the senior official in charge of trade policy, Kirk’s going to say, 'One and done.' In an interview in his Washington, D.C., office today, Kirk told Tom Stephenson, a freelance writer for D CEO magazine, that he will not continue on in that post after the November election."