You know the old saying, "it never hurts to ask?" Tell that to Democratic Gubernatorial nominee Chris Bell:

Mr. Bell left a voice mail message on Mr. [Kinky] Friedman's personal cellphone Tuesday, asking for a meeting at the mystery writer and former bandleader's ranch near Kerrville, Mr. Friedman said.

Mr. Bell later confirmed he sought a meeting so he could try to talk Mr. Friedman into dropping out of the four-way race, which is in its home stretch. The election is Nov. 7.

"I had hoped to talk to Kinky privately, but now that it's been reported by the Dallas Morning News, I'm going to ask him publicly: Please join me in defeating Rick Perry," Mr. Bell said in a statement his campaign issued late Tuesday. [snip]

Mr. Friedman, campaigning in Brownsville, said of Mr. Bell and his advisers: "They're desperate and scrambling."

Asked whether he would consider the Democrat's request to step aside, Mr. Friedman said: "No. You're kidding ... for Chris Bell? What do you take me for?"

Friedman went on to frame the question as a sign of his strength and Bell's weakness saying, "What can it possibly mean other than that we're killing him?" I bet Bell wishes he could have his question back.

In other news in the race, Grandma Strayhorn says she's on the move against incumbent Rick Perry:

Strayhorn said an internal poll taken last week found a 13-point swing, with Perry dropping by five points and her numbers climbing eight points.

She said the poll shows Perry's support at 35 percent and her support at 28 percent of likely voters.

"That was huge movement," she said. "We're right on target. We can win this race."

Get all the latest on the race here.