Original sentence: An incumbent below 50% approval, especially with more people disapproving of his job performance than approving of it, within a year of the general election is typically considered to be in danger.An independent candidate, Kinky Friedman, is gaining support faster than typical independent candidates are able to.An independent gaining ballot access in the state of Texas must garner almost 50,000 petition signatures from voters who have not voted in either the Democratic or Republican primary.Bell leads Alvarado 23%-14% with 60% undecided in the Democratic primary (Gammage was not included in that poll).He counts country-music lovers, college students, animal lovers, and ranchers among his supporters, though it remains to be seen how these constituencies will actually vote for him.In a hypothetical general election, Perry would get 46% of the vote to Bell's 25% and Friedman's 13%.Perry and Strayhorn are bitter political enemies and a nasty campaign between the two is expected, which could leave an opening for the Democrats to win this race.Perry's approval rating dropped to 38% during the latter part of the 2005 legislative session, but rebounded to 49% and then fell to 46%, with 48% disapproving.The December 2005 Scripps Howard Texas Poll of matchups puts Perry in the lead against Strayhorn by a 55%-24% margin in the Republican primary
Edited sentence: A surprise independent candidate, Kinky Friedman, is rapidly winning grassroots support among country-music lovers, college students, animal lovers, and ranchers.However, Perry and Strayhorn are bitter political enemies, and a nasty campaign between the two is expected, which could leave an opening for the Democrats to win this race.Perry's approval rating dropped to 38% during the latter part of the 2005 legislative session, but has since rebounded to 49%