This is the article about the poll on the Rasmussen Web site: Texas Governor Rick Perry and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison find themselves essentially tied in an early look at their 2010 Primary battle. The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey shows Perry attracting 42% of the vote while Hutchison earns 38%. Seven percent (7%) say they’d like to vote for somebody else and 13% are undecided. Perry leads by 15 percentage points among conservative voters but Hutchison leads by 35 points among the moderates. Favorability ratings for the two candidates are virtually even among Likely Republican Primary Voters. Perry is viewed Very Favorably by 26% and Very Unfavorably by 9%. The comparable numbers for Hutchison are 27% and 10%. (Want a free daily e-mail update? If it’s in the news, it’s in our polls.) Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter. Twenty-five percent (25%) Strongly Approve of the way that Perry has performed his job as Governor while 10% Strongly Disapprove. These numbers suggest that the Governor’s race is wide open with neither candidate holding a commanding position. This is the first Rasmussen Reports poll of the race. Earlier in the year, other polls had shown Hutchison with a significant lead. In 2006, Perry won re-election with just 39% of the vote while Democrat Chris Bell earned 30%. Carole Keeton Strayhorn left the Republican Party to run as an Independent in the race and picked up 18% of the vote. Comedian Richard ‘Kinky’ Friedman also ran as an Independent and attracted support from 12%. While attending a “Tea Party” protest last month, Perry seemed to suggest that secession was something Texas might consider in the future. He later backed away from those comments. Seventy-five percent (75%) of Texas voters said they would vote to stay in the USA.