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Republican U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison has announced that she will retire after her current term expires. In a letter released Thursday, Hutchison said she will not run for re-election in 2012. Hutchison has said she might retire and then changed her mind several times in the last few years. In 2010, she challenged Gov. Rick Perry in the Republican primary for governor, but lost. Hutchison has been in the Senate since 1993.

Kay Bailey Hutchison will not run for re-election to the U.S. Senate. In a letter to supporters, Hutchison said she enjoyed serving Texas.

...When his candidate for governor, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, fell to Gov. Rick Perry, he switched his support to Democrat Bill White. Madden is one of a number of former Hutchison supporters who have crossed parties to support the former Houston mayor, including Houstonians Matt Simmons, CEO of Simmons & Co. International, and James Flores, CEO of Plains Exploration & Production Co. In a Republican-red state like Texas, White has to lure crossover voters, big-ticket and otherwise, if he is to have any chance at all of defeating the longest-serving governor in Texas history, although wooing Republicans and independents...

AUSTIN — Former Houston Mayor Bill White may be trailing all three Republican candidates for governor in a new survey, but a top Democratic consultant said it shows him as well-positioned to start the general election. The latest survey by the political newsletter Rasmussen Reports found White trailing Gov. Rick Perry 48 percent to 39 percent; U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, 49 percent to 36 percent; and activist Debra Medina, 41 percent to 38 percent. The survey of 1,000 likely Texas voters was conducted Monday. Democratic consultant Ed Martin said the poll results are good for White because he is...

"Governor Rick Perry is back out front of Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison with an 11-point lead in the 2010 Republican Primary gubernatorial race in Texas."

Charges of economic cluelessness and political hackery are flying in Texas as U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison challenges Gov. Rick Perry for the Republican nomination for governor. .The primary isn't until March and the big bucks haven't yet been spent on advertising, polling or voter-luring barbecues in this large and heavily Republican state. But from the get-go the race has been fierce, even by the bare-knuckled standards of Texas politics. For instance, both sides have taken to posting attack videos on YouTube, referring to one-another as "Kay Bailout" and "Tricky Ricky." Mr. Perry, who appeals to the conservative wing of...

LA MARQUE, Texas – U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison says Texas Gov. Rick Perry is "trying to stay too long" in office and has proposed putting a limit on how long a governor can serve. Hutchison made the proposal as she announced her candidacy for Texas governor on Monday in the city of La Marque (luh-MAHRK'), where she grew up, as part of a 19-city campaign announcement tour that runs through Friday. The state's senior U.S. senator has said she is stepping down from that post in order to run against Perry in the March 2010 Republican primary.

A day after defending hidden phrases placed on a campaign Web site, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's gubernatorial campaign severed ties Friday to the consulting firm credited with the "hidden phrases" strategy and removed the 2,200-plus phrases.

Rick Perry said Thursday that Kay Bailey's Hutchison's statements that he should leave the governor's race were "bizarre."

TEXAS GOVERNOR'S RACE Hutchison campaign cuts ties with 'hidden phrases' firm By W. Gardner Selby AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Saturday, August 01, 2009 A day after defending hidden phrases placed on a campaign Web site, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's gubernatorial campaign severed ties Friday to the consulting firm credited with the "hidden phrases" strategy and removed the 2,200-plus phrases. "This whole story about computer-generated source code is a distraction," her spokesman, Jeff Sadosky, said. "In order to once and for all put this issue to rest, we have decided to part ways with the firm responsible." MORE ON THIS STORY Sign...

AUSTIN — U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's message today was as simple as it was confusing: If Gov. Rick Perry doesn't quit his re-election race to give me a free run at the Republican gubernatorial nomination, I'll quit the Senate to run against him. In just a matter of hours, Hutchison told a Dallas radio station in a telephone interview that she planned to quit her Senate seat in October or November to challenge Perry. But then several hours later she told reporters in Washington that her statements had been misunderstood and what she really wanted was for Perry to...

I am starting some ping lists for the 2010 Texas Governor's Race. The ping lists will expire when the election is over. Freepmail me to get on/off the lists. keyword: txgov2010 This ping list will cover all articles related to the governor's race regardless of candidate. keyword: rickperry This list will cover articles related to Governor Rick Perry, positive or negative. keyword: kbh This list will cover articles related to Senator Hutchison, positive or negative. I'll do my best not to send duplicate pings. Regards, BuckeyeTexan

"Because I speak in civil tones, some want to try to label me a moderate," she said. "My voting record is one of the most conservative in the U.S. Senate. ... We can't expect to remain the majority party in Texas if we drive out voters that support Republican principles but might not agree on every single issue."

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) is reconsidering a plan to resign from the Senate this year, a huge relief to Republicans who fear that a special election — even in deeply red Texas — could give Democrats a 60-seat, filibuster-resistant majority in the Senate. Hutchison, who plans to run for governor in 2010, has been under pressure from Republican colleagues to stay in her Senate seat as long as she can. “She’s a great lady, and I don’t blame her if she wants to run for governor, but the fact is we’d like her not to,” said Sen. Orrin G....

Mayor Bill White has decided to seek the U.S. Senate seat held by Kay Bailey Hutchison, should the two-term Republican resign next year to challenge the sitting governor, the Houston Chronicle has learned. Ending months of speculation about his political future, White plans to announce his intentions at an event next week, according to several sources close to the mayor.

President Reagan liked to say, “There are no easy answers, but there are simple ones.” This principle applies to America’s energy woes. Since the Democrats took control of Congress in January 2007, the price of a gallon of gas has soared from $2.33 per gallon to over $4. Furthermore, over the next two decades, global demand for oil is expected to rise by 50 percent, meaning that further price escalation is almost inevitable. When confronted by these facts, the energy solution — as President Reagan would say — is simple. We need more energy! We should be increasing our production...

Vice President Kay Bailey Hutchison. The possibility of John McCain selecting the Texas Senator as his running mate is floating out there somewhere.When I studied political science in school, we were taught the veep candidates were chosen because they could balance a ticket ideologically or geographically, or because they could carry a prized State. Those are old-school rules, but I assume they are still in vogue (if we add a gravitas balance rule). Other factors like age, sex, race, rural v. urban, experience with Congress, issue strengths, criminal record, etc., are also factors.The ideological balance rule might be important here,...

Will U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison join John McCain on the Republican presidential ticket? Don't count on it. Texas' senior senator all but dismissed the possibility Monday afternoon during a stop in Dallas despite speculation that she'd land on Mr. McCain's short list.

WASHINGTON — Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison told a Texas magazine she will not seek re-election after this term and may leave the Senate as early as 2009, according to excerpts published on the magazine's Web blog on Monday. Hutchison told Texas Monthly in an interview to be fully published in December that she would end her Senate career in 2012, whether or not she runs for governor. Stepping down in two years "has to be considered," the Texas Republican senior senator is quoted as saying in the excerpts. Hutchison declined an interview request from The Associated Press, but a spokesman...

SAN ANTONIO — An illegal immigrant amnesty program failed 20 years ago and a new one would be a mistake today, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn told Texas Republicans today. Both Cornyn and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison said they oppose a Senate bill approved with bipartisan support last week that provides a chance at citizenship for guest workers and an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants. "My only regret is I had but one vote against that bad bill," Cornyn told Republican state convention delegates. The Senate measure, in addition to providing a chance at citizenship, increases border security and provides guest...