Free Republic

SAN ANGELO, Texas — The political paths of three former student leaders from Texas’ two main public universities have crisscrossed for years. All three have been on the political radar since all were on the same statewide ballot in 1990. Now, two face off March 2 for the Republican nomination for governor: U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison is trying to unseat Gov. Rick Perry. The third, Democratic former state Comptroller John Sharp, wants Hutchison’s Senate seat — whenever it might be up for election. Her seat is scheduled election in 2012, but she could resign sooner, which would cause...

American Thinker readers are invited to poll their U.S. Senators concerning their reactions to Climategate. Recently, AT contacted the press offices of GOP Senators DeMint, Graham, McConnell, Hutchison, and McCain and posted their statements, or more accurately their absence of statements, on Climategate.

Kay Bailey Hutchison votes with Democrats to speed up process to healthcare vote.

Kay Bailey Hutchison, much maligned for campaigning in Texas during the health care debate, boldly announced that she would go to Washington and stay there to fight health care and kill it dead. Instead, today she accelerated it getting to the Senate floor in a bit of Senate gamesmanship.

RINOs Hutchison, Collins and Snowe voted with the Dems to cut off debate on the Military Defense Bill which was being filibustered by Repubs to slow down the health care bill. Hutchison is vying with Perry for Texas governor. I saw both their names on an older list of CFR members. Are they still members?

In protest of being booted off of the KERA TV debate for Gubernatorial candidates, Debra Medina has launched a new TV spot taking Rick Perry to task for refusing to debate if Medina were allowed to participate.

AUSTIN — Both Kay Bailey Hutchisons showed up to file for governor Monday — Primary Kay and General Election Kay. Like hyperkinetic twins, they tended to talk over each other. Primary Kay is very conservative. She talks about property rights, illegal immigrants and state-mandated vaccinations of teenage girls (a particular bugaboo of the Christian right). General Election Kay promises to expand the party — save it, she says — by appealing to the broad Texas electorate in November.

Each campaign, expecting turnout surge among casual Republican voters, hammers away at conservative credentials. By Jason EmbryAMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Sunday, December 13, 2009 Recent statements and strategy decisions have made clear that U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison believes it is Republicans — and not independents or Democrats, as some others have suggested — who can lift her to victory over Gov. Rick Perry in the March GOP primary.Hutchison's campaign expects a surge of voters who support Republicans but do not regularly vote in Republican primaries. And to appeal to those voters, she has in recent weeks stressed her support from...

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison has secured $4.85 million in funding to be used by border sheriffs to stop drug and human trafficking. The money is coming from the fiscal year 2010 Omnibus Appropriations bill. It will help border sheriffs pay for overtime, hire additional deputies, and purchase equipment. This project supports Operation Linebacker, an initiative of the Texas Border Sheriff's Coalition. "Our law enforcement personnel along the border are regularly under assault, and drug and human traffickers continue to threaten the safety of our communities," Hutchison said in a news release. "Sheriffs patrolling the border need additional reinforcements to...

Conservative South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint (R) will endorse Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams' Senate candidacy later today, a move designed to thin the GOP field running to replace Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R). "Democrats are trying to catch Republicans flat-footed and pick off the Texas Senate seat," said a source close to DeMint who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about strategic matters. "This endorsement will signal its time for conservatives and independents to rally behind Michael." The seat is not formally vacant yet as Hutchison has delayed her planned resignation until after her March 2 primary fight against...

Governor Rick Perry is turning up the heat on Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison's record as one of Washington's biggest spending Republicans. Fiscal and economic issues is, after all, Rick Perry's strong suit heading into this primary election, which should prove to be a tough and bloody one. I'm supporting Rick Perry, but will obviously vote for Kay Baby in the general election should she win the primary. The following ads sure do hurt, though. Don't they, Kay? *-*Video @ site*-* Frankly, Kay Bailey Hutchison has really picked a bad time to challenge Rick Perry for governor. While she isn't getting...

There have been many invitations to participate in debates and forums coming through our (Debra Medina's) office. The public certainly deserves to hear from each of the candidates. Unfortunately, we’re receiving multiple reports that each time we confirm, the governor cancels. It seems that Rick Perry has learned, over the years, that in order to protect his incumbent status he must be in total control of who he is on stage with and holds the media hostage to his demands.

Here is video of Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison reacting to Sen. Harry Reid's outrageous statement today in which he compared opponents to President Obama's Government Health Care Plan to those who supported slavery. Hutchison said Reid's comments were "so over the top" it is unbelievable, and she said that kind of rhetoric has no place in the Senate. She believes it is a sign of desperation on the part of the Democrats. . . . . (VIDEO)

Hutchison officially in the race By Jason Embry | Monday, December 7, 2009, 09:29 AM U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison filed to run for governor this morning at state Republican Party headquarters. So for any doubters out there, we now know that we really are going to see the long-awaited showdown between the two biggest names in Texas politics: Hutchison and Gov. Rick Perry, her fellow Republican. Hutchison rattled off a familiar list of issues she’s stressing in her campaign: protecting private-property rights, reforming the Texas Department of Transportation, protecting the borders, improving schools. She again criticized Perry for...

Mayor Bill White will formally enter the race for governor today, instantly becoming the Democrats' best hope of winning a statewide office in seven years. White, a three-term mayor who is balding and known for something of a bland personality, is expected use self-deprecating humor to tell a Hilton Americas crowd of supporters that he knows he is not a “perfect candidate” but is someone who can get things done. White has said he wants to end “strident partisanship” in Austin. He will tell supporters he wants to improve high school graduation rates and slow the rising costs of...

Perry makes it official, files for third full term Gov. Rick Perry already holds the record for the longest serving governor in state history, but today he filed to paperwork to officially become a Republican candidate for an unprecedented third term in office. Of course, Republican U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and activist Debra Medina hope to stop Perry in his tracks in the March 2 GOP primary. Hutchison is expected to formally file for the race Friday shortly before Houston Mayor Bill White jumps into the Democratic gubernatorial contest. Perry became governor in December 2000 when then-Gov. George...

By Jason Embry | Tuesday, November 24, 2009, 04:14 PM The high command of Gov. Rick Perry’s re-election campaign is encouraging supporters to participate in something called Operation Intervention, which is an effort to convert supporters of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison before the filing period begins Dec. 3. The goal of this operation seems to be convincing Hutchison not to run. In a Saturday memo to “interested parties,” Perry consultant Dave Carney wrote, “Between now and the filing period December 3rd, I would like to ask you to engage in Operation Intervention by reaching out to Hutchison supporters...

Republican women convening at the Galveston Island Convention Center this weekend said they are “energized” about the 2010 and 2012 elections and view them as a turning point for the state and nation. Women from across the state, many of whom donned Republican red, gathered Saturday for the third of a four-day convention hosted biennially by the Texas Federation of Republican Women. Highlighting the convention’s agenda during the last few days were keynote addresses by party front-runners Gov. Rick Perry and gubernatorial challenger Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison Hutchison addressed the delegation Saturday morning announcing, as expected, she won’t resign her...

WASHINGTON — Gov. Rick Perry has been campaigning against Washington, and Washington is returning the favor — no endorsements here. In the back and forth between Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, and Perry over gubernatorial endorsements, it’s no contest when it comes to the Texas congressional delegation: It’s Hutchison 10 and Perry 0.Ten of the 20 U.S. House Republicans have publicly endorsed Hutchison, and insiders say it is unlikely that any of the remaining 10 will endorse Perry, preferring to remain neutral.Rep. Joe Barton, R-Arlington, who until now has not said what he would do, told the Star-Telegram that...

Washington (CNN) -- Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who had said she would resign her seat to run for governor of Texas, plans to announce Saturday she will remain in the Senate as she seeks the Republican Party's gubernatorial nomination, a Hutchison aide tells CNN. "She will announce tomorrow at the Texas Federation of Republican Women's Convention in Galveston that she will not be resigning her seat before the primary," said the aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "She is running for governor because she feels it is important to fight on two fronts, for the race for governor...