The Midday Brief: November 13, 2009

Your afternoon reading:

• “A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Texas GOP Primary voters finds Perry with 46% of the vote while Hutchison earns 35%.” — Election 2010: Texas Republican Primary —Rassmussen Reports

• “Immigration officials announced Thursday that a fingerprint-based system that screens for suspected illegal immigrants in local jails led to the identification of more than 111,000 people classified as “criminal aliens” in its first year.” — ICE: System flags 111,000 ‘criminal aliens’ — Houston Chronicle

• “Combs also told reporters that — unlike Gov. Rick Perry — she’s not applied the Socialist label to characterize the direction of the Obama administration.” — Comptroller Combs: State finances seem steady for now — Postcards

• “‘If the opportunity comes up, and as was mentioned in your intro, we don't know that that would be the case, then I'll go ahead and look at it,’ Leppert said.” —Leppert says he'll consider Senate bid – Dallas City Hall Blog

• “Houston mayoral candidate Annise Parker has made public the personal federal income tax returns for herself and her longtime domestic partner, responding to a request by Texas Watchdog earlier this month of both Parker and her opponent, attorney Gene Locke.” — Houston mayoral candidate Annise Parker releases tax returns for self, partner to Texas Watchdog — Texas Watchdog

New in The Texas Tribune:

• “Kay Bailey Hutchison reacts to the Rasmussen poll, Rick Perry's remarks about Obama ‘trying to punish Texas’ and more questions about her resignation timetable.” — Video: Hutchison's Friday Gaggle — The Texas Tribune

• “The child welfare agency, which has long battled sky-high employee turnover and caseworker vacancy rates, has seen staffing numbers blossom since the economy stalled out.” — Hire Power — The Texas Tribune

• “Some government watchdog groups believe campaign money has too much power over elected officials in Texas, which, unlike other states and the federal government, doesn't cap contributions in non-judicial political races.” — Campaign Cash: To Cap, or Not to Cap? — The Texas Tribune