With more than a quarter of the vote tallied in the Republican primary for governor, it appears that incumbent Rick Perry will win the race with more than 50 percent of the vote, avoiding a six-week runoff campaign. Multiple outlets are reporting that Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) is conceding the race. The results, as of 10:30 pm ET:

Republican Gubernatorial Primary (29.7% Precincts Reporting)
Perry 52.1
Hutchison 30.8
Medina 17.1

Considering what a competitive race this was thought to be a year ago, the result is a stunning defeat for Hutchison, and will be read widely as a rebuke of all things Washington. Perry's message was distinctly anti-Washington, as he made clear in an interview with RCP last November criticizing Hutchison's vote for TARP in 2008.

I'm not running against a United States senator. I'm running against a federal government that is out of control, from my perspective. The key for me is that Texas is a large and influential state. What we do matters to the rest of the country form the standpoint of a being a laboratory of innovation. So when Washington passes legislation that hinders ability to be competitive, I'm going to speak out. And voting for the bailout was one of those things that I think was ill-thought out, has not been productive for this country.

Perry now faces former Houston Mayor Bill White in a race that Democrats feel they have a legitimate shot at winning.

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