Ho-hum, says Hutchison about another run by Rick

If U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison is worried about going head-to-head in a Republican primary against sitting Gov. Rick Perry in two years, she's not showing it.

"Whatever," Texas' senior senator shrugged after hearing that Perry might be eye-balling an unprecedented third four-year term in 2010. "I'm just gonna do what I'm gonna do."

Hutchison, who has represented Texas in Washington, D.C., since 1993, has made little secret that she's in her final term in the Senate. And she's even gone so far as saying she might quit before that term expires in 2013.

"I'm looking at it (a run for guv) and am excited about the possibility," she said after making a speech in New Braunfels. "I don't want to get involved with that (the 2010 campaign until after the 2008 cycle). I don't think that's fair. But I'm certainly beginning to look at gearing up."

Perry, meanwhile, has had the governor's chair since George W. Bush left for the White House after the 2000 elections. Most observers had expected him to look for a new line of work when his current term expires, especially considering that he only gained 39 percent of the vote in a multi-field race to win re-election in 2006.

But as PoliTex reported Thursday, insiders are now saying Perry might be planning to stay put. There's an unauthorized bumper sticker on a pickup or two around Austin that has his logo with "Again in '10" slogan stenciled on it.

Ho-hum, replied Hutchison. "Whoever else is in the race is in the race," she said.

-- John Moritz

Comments

[Greg]

What's so great about Kay Bailey? She is just a rubber stamp for the incompetent war monger Bush who can't seem to think for herself.

[texassoccer]

KBH needs to do TX a favor and run for Governor in 2010.

[Tom Blackwell]

The next Governor of Texas will be a Democrat.

During the last US Senate election, we found correspondence to Senator Hutchison by people who sincerely thought it would have consideration. But these people only received form letters, at the most, and no action. They can look back in their files years later and see what was happening with her in office - - the most these citizens received were form letters.

I went to her office in Washington and presented an urgent issue, that is now, in fact, on the interim charges to committees of the Texas House by its Speaker. I never received a reply from her about that, either.

She needs to go back and answer her mail.