User:BrianY/House2010

Gary Herbert (Utah)
With Governor Jon Huntsman nominated as ambassador to China, Lt. Governor Gary Herbert will assume the governorship. However, Utah law requires a special election be held in 2010 to fill the remainder of the term, which expires in 2012. Herbert has said he plans to run in the election. On the Democratic side Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker, Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon , and Congressman Jim Matheson may run.

The 2010 Texas gubernatorial election will be held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010 to elect the Governor of Texas, who will serve a four-year term to begin on January 15, 2011. Unlike other states, the incumbent governor (Rick Perry) is not term limited, and can run for re-election (and has announced plans to do so, see "Possible Candidates" section below).

The Texas Republican and Democratic parties will select their nominees at their respective conventions which, by Texas law, must be held in June 2010 (the selections will be based on the results of primary votes held in March). The Texas Libertarian Party qualified for automatic ballot access in 2010 by garnering "more than 5 percent [of votes] in at least one statewide race", in which one of their nominees draw over 1 million votes. The Libertarians will select their nominee at their State Convention, being forbidden by Texas statute to hold primary elections. In addition, one or more write-in candidates may seek ballot access; however, the criteria for such access is quite strict – thus, only one with a high level of personal popularity would have the ability to obtain such access.

The Lieutenant Governor of Texas will also be elected on November 2, but on a separate ticket; as a result, the Governor-elect and Lieutenant Governor-elect may be (and have been) of different parties. Texas does not have term limits for its governors.

Republicans

 * Texas Governor Rick Perry


 * Christian activist and secession promoter Larry Kilgore

Potential

 * Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison


 * Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst

Possible

 * Former Ambassador to Japan, former Democratic state representative president and partner in the Texas Rangers ownership company, and Ambassador to Australia


 * Former Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle


 * 2006 Independent Candidate Kinky Friedman


 * Texas State Senator Leticia Van de Putte


 * Texas State Senator of District 14 and former mayor of Austin Kirk Watson

Declined

 * Houston mayor Bill White White is ineligible to seek another term as Mayor due to term limits, and his current term expires on January 2, 2010.  However, it appears he will most likely run for the senate seat currently held by Kay Bailey Hutchison, should she resign to run for governor.

Libertarians

 * 1990 Competitor (129,128 votes; 3.3%) Jeff Daiell


 * Kenneth Griffin

Perry
Perry has received the endorsement of the Alaska Governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

Hutchison
Hutchison has received the endorsement of former majority leader of the United States House of Representatives Dick Armey

Republican Primary
† Poll commissioned by Kay Bailey Hutchison's campaign

Democratic Primary
†† Republican polling firm

Requirements for third-party, independent, and write-in gubernatorial candidates
Should a third party (such as the Green Party; the Libertarian Party qualified for the 2010 ballot by drawing over 5% of the vote in a Statewide race in 2008) or an independent gubernatorial candidate seek ballot access in the state of Texas, the candidate must meet the following requirements:
 * The candidate must obtain signatures from registered voters, in an amount equalling at least one percent of the total votes cast in the prior gubernatorial election. (In the 2006 election, 4,399,068 votes were cast for all gubernatorial candidates; thus, 43,991 signatures are required from any third-party or independent candidate for the 2010 election.)
 * The signatures must come from registered voters who did not vote in either the Democratic or Republican primaries or in any runoff elections for Governor.
 * The signatures must come from registered voters who have not signed a petition for any other independent candidate. If a supporter signed more than one petition, only the first signature counts.
 * The signatures must be obtained within 60 days following the primary election; the window is shortened to 30 days if a runoff election for either party's gubernatorial candidate is required.

In the event a candidate does not qualify for third-party or independent status, the person may still run as a write-in candidate. The candidate must pay a $3,750 filing fee and submit 5,000 qualified signatures. However, the filing cannot take place any earlier than July 30, nor later than 5:00 PM on August 29.