Texans: Vote for Kinky 2006!

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - Texas humorist Kinky Friedman, who wrote the song "They Ain't Makin' Jews Like Jesus Any More," announced on Thursday his independent candidacy for the state's governorship.

Friedman, joking he wants to move into the governor's mansion "because I need the closet space," launched his drive to become the state's first independent governor since Texas Revolution hero Sam Houston in 1859 in front of the Alamo.

Wearing a black cowboy hat and sporting a trademark lit cigar, Friedman's announcement was carried nationally on the MSNBC morning show hosted by radio personality Don Imus.

The author of numerous books, columns and songs he performed with his bar band "The Texas Jewboys," Friedman, 60, stressed he'll use humor to frame a serious candidacy in the Republican-dominated state.

"Don't worry about my lack of experience," Friedman said. "Trust me. I'm a Jew. I'll hire good people."

On the 169th anniversary of Lt. Col. William B. Travis' arrival at the Alamo, which would eventually fall to Mexican troops, Friedman laid out his plan to begin the "de-wussification of Texas."

"I'm not anti-death penalty. I'm anti-the wrong guy getting executed," Friedman said. "Two-thousand years ago we executed an innocent man named Jesus Christ and we don't want to make another mistake like that."

COMIC AS SERIOUS CANDIDATE

"We're Number One in executions and we're Number 49 in funding public education," Friedman said, and then later told the crowd he's for nondenominational prayer in public schools.

"What's wrong with a kid believing in something?" he asked.

An animal lover, Friedman vowed to outlaw the declawing of cats and promised to appoint singer and well-known marijuana smoker Willie Nelson as head of the Texas Rangers.

Like Minnesota's Jesse Ventura in 1998 and California's Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2003, Friedman's nontraditional candidacy could garner serious support, said political analyst Larry Hufford of St. Mary's University in San Antonio.

"I think Kinky can make the candidates deal with issues they don't want to talk about," Hufford said.

Gov. Rick Perry is facing the possibility of several challenges from powerful fellow Republicans, including a chance that popular U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison could compete against him in the Republican primary in the spring of 2006.

To get on the 2006 November ballot, Friedman must collect signatures of 40,500 registered voters next spring, and only those who did not participate in the major-party primaries are eligible to sign.

Friedman could make a difference just by campaigning for 15 months, even if he does not make the ballot, Hufford said. But Friedman showed he will be difficult to pin down ideologically.

"We're going to wake up that great slumbering giant of Texas independence," Friedman said.