Kay Bailey Hutchison (Getty Images/Joshua Roberts)
After months of running an "exploratory" campaign for governor -- and raising oodles of money for that prospective 2010 race -- Texas Republican Sen.
Kay Bailey Hutchison made it official Monday: She is challenging Republican incumbent
Rick Perry in the gubernatorial primary next March.
Hutchison also announced Monday, at a news conference in her hometown of Dallas, that she raised $6.7 million for her campaign in the first six months of this year, ending what her campaign said was "the first phase" of her bid for governor. Hutchison earlier had transferred $8 million from her Senate campaign treasury to her account for the governor's race, which now reports more than $12 million in cash on hand.
"While phase one of the campaign was designed to ensure we have the resources to deliver Kay's conservative message to voters across our state, it is now time to begin delivering that message," wrote Rick Wiley, Hutchison's campaign manager, in a memorandum.
He added that Hutchison would hold a formal announcement event in August, when Congress will be on its summer recess.
Perry's campaign earlier said that he raised $4.2 million in a nine-day period that ended June 30, and had $9.3 million in total cash reserves. Texas law barred Perry from raising money until June 22, after the state legislative and gubernatorial veto sessions ended.
Both of these longtime figures in statewide politics represent elements of the Republican Party's rise to political dominance in Texas, formerly a Southern Democratic stronghold.
Hutchison was state treasurer when she ousted appointed Democrat Bob Krueger in the June 1993 special election for the Senate seat Democrat Lloyd Bentsen had vacated to become President Bill Clinton's first Treasury secretary. Hutchison then was easily re-elected to full terms in 1994, 2000 and 2006.
Perry was elected in 1998 as lieutenant governor to Gov. George W. Bush, who greatly expanded the GOP's grip on political power in the state. Perry moved up to governor in late 2000 after Bush was elected to his first of two terms as president. After a routine victory for a full term in 2002, Perry struggled through a four-way race in 2006 in which he won with a 39 percent plurality and a 9 percentage-point margin over his closest competitor.
Perry has moved aggressively in recent months to strengthen his Republican primary base by taking outspoken conservative stands on issues. He is trying to position himself to the right of Hutchison, who has for the most part voted a strongly conservative line as a senator but is more moderate than Perry on some matters, especially social issues such as abortion rights.
The Democratic field presently includes Tom Schieffer, a businessman and ambassador to Australia and Japan during Bush's presidency. The primary could also include musician Richard "Kinky" Friedman, an independent candidate in the 2006 election who is exploring a 2010 campaign as a Democrat.
Clarification: Hutchison won her Senate seat in 1993 by defeating interim incumbent Krueger, who had been appointed to fill the vacancy created by Bentsen's departure. The original version of the story indicated that Hutchison had directly succeeded Bentsen by winning the special election.
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Comments
There's a saying "It's your country - love it or leave it." From his statements earlier this year threatening secession, we know which way Perry would respond.
Posted by: billp
| July 13, 2009 7:55 PM
A correction -- Kay-Kay didn't succeed Lloyd Bentsen. When Lloyd left the Senate to become Treasury Sec., Governor Ann Richards appointed Bob Krueger, a former Democratic Congressman to the open seat. Krueger only held it for about 6 months before Kay-Kay beat him in a special election in June 1993. Sad to say, but Krueger was the last Democratic Senator Texas has had -- so far.
Posted by: bjh
| July 14, 2009 12:01 AM
Hey Billp, what do you say to the "Hollywood Idiots" who said that they couldn't wait to get out of the US if Bush became President. Does your "saying" still apply? Different strokes...
Also, from what I remember, that Texas spec. election was an old fashioned ass-kicking in the runoff, 67-33, or close to it, were the percentages.
As for the present, I would like to see more dependable polling on this primary match-up, the previous polls have way too many undecideds.
Posted by: NObama
| July 14, 2009 2:20 PM
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