From the Houston Chronicle:

Kinky Friedman makes gubernatorial run official

By R.G. RATCLIFFE AUSTIN BUREAU

AUSTIN — Satirist Richard "Kinky" Friedman entered the race for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination Tuesday, indifferent to partisan complaints that his 2006 independent campaign caused the Democrats to lose that year.

"Obama taught us one thing: you've got to excite the people," Friedman said. "The Democrats have come up with such a string of establishment candidates that they've failed to do that."

Friedman, who is anything but the usual politician, said Democrats need to excite voters if they want to defeat Republican Gov. Rick Perry or his GOP primary challenger, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.

"Otherwise, when the clash of the plastic Titans is over on the Republican side, that person, the winner of that will be governor," he said.

[snip]

"Strangely, I think he's the frontrunner," said Jason Stanford, who managed the campaign of 2006 Democratic nominee Chris Bell. "Universal name ID is expensive, and he has a statewide activist base and thousands of identified supporters who signed his petitions."

[snip]

"We've got a smart president, and now we need a smart governor," he said.

Friedman ran as a Republican for a Kerr County justice of the peace position in 1986. He ran as an independent for governor in 2006.

"That campaign was a serious campaign. Many people didn't think it was, but the voice of people needs to be heard," he said. "The outsiders are fighting for the soul of the Democratic Party here."

Also from the Houston Chronicle:

Kinky's back, and this time he's a Democrat

By KELLEY SHANNON AP Political Writer

AUSTIN, Texas — Humorist and author Kinky Friedman says he's running for governor again, this time as a Democrat.

Friedman, in an interview with The Associated Press on the eve of his formal announcement, described himself as a "true populist." He said he's offering Democrats a new, winning model, noting that the last Democrat to hold the Texas governorship was Ann Richards in the early 1990s.

[snip]

He said he wants to give teachers a $3,000 across-the-board pay raise and get rid of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills standardized testing for public school students. He said there are too many toll roads in Texas and that he would prefer to pay for roads with tax revenue from legalized casinos in certain parts of the state, such as Galveston.

Friedman said he's planning a fundraiser with Willie Nelson later this month and that he hopes to raise money from thousands of supporters online, like he did when he ran as an independent in 2006. That year Republican Rick Perry won, and Friedman was fourth.

"It's really time for Texas to secede from Rick Perry," Friedman said.

[snip]

Though he sounded more serious than when he embarked on his candidacy of 2006, Friedman did crack a few one-liners and said he won't stop himself from using humor this election season.

"I'm going to be Kinky," he said.