FILE - Texas gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman, left, listens as Gov. Rick Perry makes a comment during an on-air debate in Dallas on Oct. 6, 2006. Friedman, the singer, songwriter, satirist and novelist who also dabbled in Texas politics with a campaign for governor, died Thursday at his family’s Texas ranch near San Antonio. He was 79. (AP Photo/Smiley N. Pool, File)