Medina is now getting the attention she wanted. But not all of it is favorable

Former Wharton County Republican Party chairwoman Debra Medina, who is seeking her party’s nomination for governor, is finally getting the attention her campaign wanted.

Medina, who is not as well-known as incumbent Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, Perry’s main rival in the March 2 Republican primary, will participate in the televised debate that Dallas-based Belo Corp. will be broadcasting on its TV stations and on Texas Cable News tomorrow night.

Medina, you may recall, also participated in the Jan. 14 debate that the PBS network carried statewide.

Although things are looking good Medina – her latest poll approvals are 12 percent compared to no more than 7 percent in previous surveys – she is also getting a taste of what is like being in the spotlight. And not everything has been pleasant.

For instance, the Dallas Morning News reported earlier this week that she spent campaign money on clothing and Medina had to explain why, However, the newspaper’s report didn’t create political storm like the one former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin created when it was reported that the Republican Party spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on her wardrobe when she running for vice president.

All things considered, even if Medina does well again in tomorrow night’s debate the best political analysts expect from her is to be the spoiler in the Republican race for governor, forcing Perry and Hutchison into an April runoff.

And this is not only because of her lack of name recognition. Medina just doesn’t have the funds to run a major statewide campaign because the money she has raised is pocket change compared to the millions Perry and Hutchison have raised in more than a year.

But in this year of political discontent anything can happen and few candidates have articulated the discontent with Washington and with politicians in general as well as Medina who describes herself in her latest TV commercial as one of us.