"If you run for governor, I'll kill ya."

Caption attributable to either man.

Attorney General Greg Abbott doesn't want to talk about whether he's seeking the governorship, but he is in overdrive on all the issues that make him a leading contender for the GOP nod, even if Gov. Rick Perry runs for re-election.

I would like to see a contested gubernatorial primary, but my instinct is that Rick Perry is going to make another run for president in 3.9 years. No reason he can't do both, of course.

It appears Abbott is determined not to prod the competitive Perry into running for re-election to show he can beat him the way he did then-U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in 2010 — a comparison Perry was quick to make when a TV station asked him about word that Abbott was telling donors he was aiming at the top job.

“I've been underestimated many times before,” Perry told Austin television station KVUE.

Perry, who's leaving the door open to a re-election run in 2014 and another White House bid in 2016, plans to disclose his plans in June, after the regular legislative session ends.

Abbott has multiple options as well.

“Everything is pure speculation until this summer, but I can envision virtually no scenario where Perry and Abbott face off against each other,” said lobbyist Ray Sullivan, Perry's former gubernatorial chief of staff and his former presidential campaign communications director.

Sullivan cited the men's friendship, similar philosophies and partnership on policy.

Some think Perry will decide not to run; others say that if Perry runs, Abbott will aim instead for lieutenant governor.

“There are a myriad of possibilities,” Sullivan said.

GOP consultant Matt Mackowiak also considers it more likely that the two will find a way to avoid a contest.

“Someone told me once if Abbott was smart, he would go find Rick a job,” Mackowiak said.

Heh heh huh huh, chuckled Beavis. But what do the most important people say... you know, the ones who write the fat checks?

What major donors decide will be key, said Rice University political scientist Mark Jones, who suggested they might think it's better for the party's future to ease out Perry.

[...]

Among GOP donors, many are giving to both Perry and Abbott, though others are not.
Of the 42 largest donors to the two candidates in 2012 — those who gave more than $50,000 to Perry, to Abbott or to the two combined — 26 gave to both, according to an analysis by Texans for Public Justice, which tracks money in politics. Of the rest, one gave no money to Abbott, and 15 didn't donate to Perry.

Nearly $5 million of the combined 2012 donations to Abbott and Perry came from these donors, with nearly $2 million to Perry and nearly $3 million to Abbott.

Wouldn't a faceoff between the two be in the interests of the corporate media, for all the advertising revenue they have become increasingly dependent upon? Not to mention the political advisors holding targeted mail lists for donors and voters.

We are, of course, already aware of this financial windfall locally in the SD-6 special election... and now the runoff. It's going to be a good two-year cycle for the people who make their living consulting politicians on their campaigns. It's already off to a great start.

Update: Rick Perry: "Greg Abbott won't run for governor against me"

In an exclusive interview with Gov. Rick Perry on Wednesday, he said Attorney General Greg Abbott has told him he won't run against him in next year's GOP primary should the incumbent seek reelection.

A spokesman for Abbott's campaign issued a statement saying he wasn't familiar with any such deal, and called any speculation about the attorney general's political future "unproductive."