The poll surveyed 798 likely Republican primary voters. These results tracked a poll I wrote about last night: the leaders lost ground, Medina gained ground. The main difference is that the “undecideds” did not gain as much ground as they did in the unnamed poll that I reported on. The Hutchison campaign must be extremely disappointed. They felt they had won the debate. Most pundits who commented about the debate thought that Perry had done poorly. Yet, his eleven-point lead in November (46-35) dwindled by only one point. That’s two more months and who knows how much TV money down the drain for Hutchison, with only six weeks left in the campaign. Very little else has changed in the race. The favorable and unfavorable ratings of the two leading candidates are virtually identical. The next major event is the January 29 Belo debate, from which Medina is currently excluded. The Medina campaign put out this statement today: What about the sunshine in this election? We Texans deserve to hear from all of the candidates in the upcoming BELO debate, but Debra Medina has not yet received an invitation. Dealey D. Herndon, who sits on BELO’s board of directors, is Governor Perry’s former director of appointments and currently the project manager for the restoration of the Governor’s mansion and executive director of the State Preservation Board. Herndon’s brother, Robert Dechard, is BELO’s chairman of the board. It’s bad enough when elected officials engage in cronyism during the course of their official duties; it’s another thing entirely when that abuse extends to the election itself and determines which opposing candidates We Texans are allowed to hear.” This must have had some effect, because the latest rumbings are that Medina will be allowed in the Belo debate after all.