The Evening Brief: July 12, 2012

New in The Texas Tribune:

• Cruz Leading Dewhurst in Two New Polls: "Former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz leads Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst among likely voters in the July 31 Republican primary runoff for an open U.S. Senate seat, according to two new polls. A poll from Public Policy Polling, which surveys races nationally, shows Cruz with 49 percent support and Dewhurst with 44 percent of the vote."

• Club for Growth Super PAC Slams Dewhurst: "U.S. Senate candidate Ted Cruz is getting another boost from the Club for Growth Super PAC, which helped him get into the July 31 runoff with Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst. The conservative, Tea Party-aligned group unveiled two new ads, one for TV and one for radio, and said it would spend $1.5 million to air them."

• Texas State University System Unveils $10,000 Degree Program: "Sul Ross State University Rio Grande College, an upper-division college in the Texas State University System, has partnered with Southwest Texas Junior College for a program that offers a $10,000 bachelor's degree."

Culled:

• New Texas estimate for health care reform is $11 billion cheaper (San Antonio Express-News): "On the heels of Gov. Rick Perry’s declaration that Texas won’t expand Medicaid, Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Tom Suehs said Thursday fully implementing the health care law would cost about $11 billion less over 10 years than previously estimated."

• Dewhurst Leads Cruz by Eight in Own Poll (National Journal): "Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has a lead in his runoff campaign against former state Solicitor General Ted Cruz, according to a poll obtained by Hotline on Call that was conducted last week for Dewhurst's Senate campaign. The survey of 601 likely Republican primary runoff voters shows Dewhurst leading Cruz, 50 percent to 42 percent."

• Voter ID trial: Sen. Wendy Davis echoes complaints about impact on minorities: "State Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, kicked off testimony on Day 4 of this week’s federal trial over the Texas voter ID law, echoing messages from other witnesses for the Justice Department that the law would hurt minorities and was rushed into law during a racially heated legislative session."

• Houston to host premiere of controversial Obama documentary tonight (Houston Chronicle): "The producer of a controversial new movie that is strongly critical of President Barack Obama has chosen Houston as the site of its world premiere.  The movie — 2016: Obama’s America — is scheduled to premiere tonight at Houston’s Edwards Cinema. It is based on the book “The Roots of Obama’s Rage” by conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza and has an Academy Award-winning producer, Gerald Robert Molen, who worked on Schindler’s List, Jurassic Park and Rain Man."