Perry and Hutchison Share Same Stage for Troop Benefit

GOP rivals Gov. Rick Perry and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison traded barbs all week, but on Sunday they shared the stage at Sean Hannity's freedom concert.

The two GOP heavy hitters didn't cross paths and didn't talk politics, campaign sources told NBCDFW.com's Omar Villafranca.

Perry left in his three-car motorcade and didn't talk to reporters, but Hutchison stepped outside to talk to press.

"We're together on this," Hutchison said about the concert. "We our for our troops and this is a great cause."

The concert might be the only thing Hutchison and Perry completely agree on.

Hutchison criticized Perry, who has built a lead in the latest polls. Perry has been campaigning on an anti-Washington, anti-government spending platform. Hutchison said Perry isn't coming clean when he campaigns.

"I think it is disingenuous at best to kind of rant against Washington and then balance the state budget with the stimulus funds," Hutchison added.

Earlier this week, Hutchison's campaign slipped after it was discovered that certain offensive search terms were hidden on the campaign Web site. Hutchison also recently hired a new campaign manager, adding fuel to the rumor that her campaign is falling apart.

Hutchison disagrees.

"This is just the evolution of a campaign. So, I'm very pleased and upbeat," Hutchison said.

Hutchison and Perry both talked to the crowd, but several attendees said that Perry received more applause on stage.

Contact Us