Hutchison Says Get Out of My Way Perry!

[Lunar]

http://www.politico.com/blogs/scorecard/1208/Hutchison_announces_shes_running_for_governor.html?showall

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) has set up an exploratory committee to run for governor of Texas -- the first official step as she prepares to run against Gov. Rick Perry (R-Tex.) in the 2010 GOP primary.

Hutchison announced she is transferring $1 million from her Senate campaign committee to begin funding the gubernatorial campaign. At the end of September, she reported $8.7 million in her account.

"Today, I am filing an exploratory committee so I can begin the process of organizing a campaign for Governor of Texas," Hutchison said in a statement. "I am not yet a candidate, but Texas law requires this first, important step before an announcement can be made."

"Texans deserve a Governor who, in the context of sound budgetary policies and low taxes, works for quality schools and universities, access to health care for our families, communities safe from crime and drugs, protection of private property rights, safe transportation and a government that listens and responds to them," she added.

Hutchison said she will remain in the Senate during this exploratory phase, but has not signaled whether she will do so once an official candidate. She would be able to serve in the Senate while running; her term doesn't expire until 2012.

If she resigned, Perry would name a temporary replacement for her.

Hutchison was considered a possible running mate for John McCain during the presidential race.  She has long eyed the governorship, and has never been close with Perry.

[minionofmidas]

Wow, I didn't know that Perry could run again. Hutchison's long been considered the odds-on favorite to be Texas' Governor come 2011.

[Lunar]

Wow, I didn't know that Perry could run again. Hutchison's long been considered the odds-on favorite to be Texas' Governor come 2011.

I believe Texas doesn't have term limits.  Perry's been rockin' that seat since when, 2000 after Bush?

Texans are bored with him

[minionofmidas]

Wow, I didn't know that Perry could run again. Hutchison's long been considered the odds-on favorite to be Texas' Governor come 2011.

I believe Texas doesn't have term limits (but I could be wrong). 

It doesn't. I looked it up after reading your piece, before replying.

Texans are bored with him

He never was the model of popularity. Just good enough to beat the less-than-stellar opposition thanks to the R next to his name.

[Lunar]

http://www.star-telegram.com/804/story/589097.html

Back in April he said he would run for reelection.

GRAPEVINE -- Gov. Rick Perry, after speaking Thursday at a forum held by the Republican Governor's Association, told reporters that he plans on running for re-election in 2010.

When Perry was asked if he could foresee himself, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison all on the ballot in 2010, Perry said he knew that he would be on the ballot.

"I don't know about the other two," Perry said. "You need to ask them."

Asked specifically if he was going to run for re-election, Perry said, "Yes."

[Sam Spade]

Perry's not going to beat Hutchinson in a primary, something which he will realize sometime around the same time Carole Keeton McClellan Rylander Strayhorn "whatever" did.

[jamestroll]

Perry would have lost to Kinky Carole Bell...

[jimrtex]

Perry's not going to beat Hutchinson in a primary, something which he will realize sometime around the same time Carole Keeton McClellan Rylander Strayhorn "whatever" did.

I hear that Chris Bell, Gene Kelly, and Victor Morales have already filed in the senate special election.

[minionofmidas]

Perry's not going to beat Hutchinson in a primary, something which he will realize sometime around the same time Carole Keeton McClellan Rylander Strayhorn "whatever" did.

I hear that Chris Bell, Gene Kelly, and Victor Morales have already filed in the senate special election.

You have special elections for those? If Hutchison doesn't resign until she takes office, there's no need for one under most state's rules - an interim appointment til 2012, and a regular election that year.

[Lunar]

I think she’s expected to resign in order to make her run, but I’m not entirely sure why.  The leading Democrats in the state will line up for her open seat instead of trying to take her on directly, no?

[minionofmidas]

I think she’s expected to resign in order to make her run, but I’m not entirely sure why.  The leading Democrats in the state will line up for her open seat instead of trying to take her on directly, no?

Presumably so - although the people jim mentions are sort of leading democrats-cum-perennial candidates. Which says a lot about the state of the Texas Democrats...

[bgwah]

Interesting. Three term Governors are pretty rare. I think Hoeven just won his third. Perry (and Huckabee recently) are both 2.5 termers. Pataki is the only other recent one I can think of off the top of my head. If Perry somehow managed to win (he won't) he would be one of the longest serving Governors in a while (and people who serve multiple stints as Governor at separate times don't count!).

Maybe Perry could appoint himself to Hutchison's seat.

[Sam Spade]

Interesting. Three term Governors are pretty rare. I think Hoeven just won his third. Perry (and Huckabee recently) are both 2.5 termers. Pataki is the only other recent one I can think of off the top of my head. If Perry somehow managed to win (he won't) he would be one of the longest serving Governors in a while (and people who serve multiple stints as Governor at separate times don't count!).

Maybe Perry could appoint himself to Hutchison's seat.

He could, but Texas has special Senate elections if you leave the office in an odd-numbered year or the 62nd day after a general primary election.

[The Mikado]

Perry's not going to beat Hutchinson in a primary, something which he will realize sometime around the same time Carole Keeton McClellan Rylander Strayhorn "whatever" did.

I hear that Chris Bell, Gene Kelly, and Victor Morales have already filed in the senate special election.

Ha, ha, ha.  Seriously, though, the Texas Democratic Party will run a decent candidate in the 2011 special, that being the first statewide race since John Sharp's Lt. Gov bid in 2002 at which the Dems have a reasonable shot.  That being said, if it were Dewhurst v. White (for example) in 2011, Dewhurst would still have to be favored.

The joke candidate will be for governor in 2010.  Kay will likely approach two-thirds of the vote like she did in 2006.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

I'd much rather have her than Perry.

[paul718]

If she won, could Perry appoint himself to her Senate seat?

[jimrtex]

Perry's not going to beat Hutchinson in a primary, something which he will realize sometime around the same time Carole Keeton McClellan Rylander Strayhorn "whatever" did.

I hear that Chris Bell, Gene Kelly, and Victor Morales have already filed in the senate special election.

You have special elections for those? If Hutchison doesn't resign until she takes office, there's no need for one under most state's rules - an interim appointment til 2012, and a regular election that year.

If a senatorial vacancy occurs in an even-numbered year and 62 or more days before the general primary election, then the election is conducted as an ordinary election with a primary,runoff and general election in November.  The general primary is the first Tuesday in March, which in 2010 will be March 2nd, the 61st day of the year (At the time of the Jaybird primary cases, the primary was in August.  This part of the law obviously hasn't been rethunk).

Otherwise a special election is held at the next uniform election date that is at least 36 days later.  There used to be 4 such dates, in February, May, August, and November; but now only the May and November dates exist.  The May date is interesting because it is the 2nd Saturday in May.  There is also the possibility of an emergency election, which would be at the discretion of the governor.

KBH was elected at such a special election in May and June 1993, after Lloyd Bentsen resigned to become Commerce Secretary.  One effect of the law was that Gov. Ann Richards' temporary appointment, Robert Krueger, only served from January to June, and was having to campaign almost immediately.

Here are the 1993 election results.  KBH won the runoff handily (63-37).


RACE NAME PARTY CANVASS VOTES PERCENT
U.S. Senator (Unexpired)   
 Joe Barton REP 284,135 13.88% - US Rep
 Billy Brown PLP 2,187 0.10%
 Louis C. Davis IND 1,548 0.07%
 Rick Draheim LIB 5,677 0.27%
 Jack Fields REP 277,560 13.56% - US Rep
 Richard Fisher DEM 165,564 8.09% - Later US Senate Candidate
 Rose Floyd SWP 2,301 0.11%
 Jose Angel Gutierrez DEM 52,103 2.54% - La Raza Unida founder, former Zavala County Judge
 Lottie Bolling Hancock IND 2,242 0.10%
 Roger Henson IND 3,092 0.15%
 Stephen Hopkins REP 14,753 0.72%
 Charles Ben Howell REP 3,866 0.18%
 Kay Bailey Hutchison REP 593,338 29.00% - State Treasurer
 Gene Kelly DEM 11,331 0.55% - Sound familiar?  Also later Dem. nominee for Senate.
 Robert (Bob) Krueger(I) DEM 593,239 28.99% -  Former US Rep, Ambassador to Mexico, Sen. appointee
 C. (Sonny) Payne DEM 6,782 0.33%
 Don Richardson IND 6,209 0.30%
 Chuck Sibley REP 2,406 0.11%
 Thomas D. Spink REP 2,281 0.11%
 Herbert Spiro REP 4,459 0.21%
 Maco Stewart IND 1,260 0.06%
 James Vallaster REP 2,124 0.10%
 Clymer Wright REP 5,111 0.24%
 Lou Zaeske IND 2,191 0.10%
   ----------- 
  Race Total 2,045,759


The more famous special election was in 1961, to fill the seat vacated by LBJ when he vacated his senate seat to become Vice President.  71 candidates ran, and John Tower won the runoff to become the first Republican senator from Texas since Reconstruction.

[jimrtex]

Wow, I didn't know that Perry could run again. Hutchison's long been considered the odds-on favorite to be Texas' Governor come 2011.

I believe Texas doesn't have term limits (but I could be wrong). 

It doesn't. I looked it up after reading your piece, before replying.

Texans are bored with him

He never was the model of popularity. Just good enough to beat the less-than-stellar opposition thanks to the R next to his name.

He beat Jim Hightower to become Agriculture Secretary, beat John Sharp to become Lieutenant Governor, beat well funded Tony Sanchez to be elected governor, and then beat three well known candidates to be re-elected to governor.

The term for governor was increased to 4 years in 1974.  George Bush was the first to be re-elected to a 4-year term.  Perry presumably will be the first to be re-elected and actually serve the 2nd 4 years.

Dolph Briscoe was the governor when the term was increased, and was re-elected, thus serving 6 years.  He was defeated by John Hill in the 1978 Democratic primary, which permitted Bill Clements to become the first Republican governor since Reconstruction.  Clements was defeated by Mark White in 1982, but won the rematch in 1986.  Clements is thus the only governor to serve 8 years, until this coming January.  Clements did not seek a 3rd term, and Ann Richards was elected in 1990 (after defeating Mark White in the Democratic primary).  George W Bush defeated Richards in 1994, and was re-elected in 1998, when Perry was elected Lieutenant Governor.

This past summer, Perry became the longest continuously serving governor when he topped the record of Allan Shivers.  Shivers was elected 3 times, after having assumed office after the death of the previous governor, to serve 7-1/2 years.   The treasurer of KBH's finance committee is Allan Shivers, Jr.   Shivers, Sr was a Tory Democrat who is credited with delivering Texas for Eisenhower in 1952, after the US, Harry Truman, and Harold Ickes tried to steal our oil.

[jimrtex]

If she won, could Perry appoint himself to her Senate seat?

It might depend on which she resigned.  She will have to file for governor by early January in 2010.  If she held another office, she might have to resign.  At least this is the case for the legislature, where candidates with more than a year remaining on a term for another office have to resign.  This is one reason why the filing period extends until January 2nd - so legislators can file for office without resigning their current term.  But I don't think that Texas can set additional qualifications for US Senator.

I would expect that KBH would resign some time in early 2010, so that she could devote full time to the campaign.  This would make a better narrative - that after having served 17 years in the Senate, she wanted to come home to Texas, rather than, I want to hold on to my senate seat in case I'm defeated.

Perry could appoint himself Senator, but that would mean he would have to run in the special election in May 2010, two months after the primary.  It doesn't make sense to be running for governor if you've just appointed yourself senator.    Perry could also appoint David Dewhurst.   This would permit the Republican Party to name a new Lieutenant Governor nominee.

[Mr. Morden]

Interesting. Three term Governors are pretty rare. I think Hoeven just won his third. Perry (and Huckabee recently) are both 2.5 termers. Pataki is the only other recent one I can think of off the top of my head. If Perry somehow managed to win (he won't) he would be one of the longest serving Governors in a while (and people who serve multiple stints as Governor at separate times don't count!).

Tommy Thompson was a 3.5 term governor....same as Perry would be if he ran for another term in 2010 and won (and served a full 4 years).  Thompson was elected governor of Wisconsin in 1986, then reelected in 1990, 1994, and 1998....only leaving office to serve as Bush's Secretary of HHS in early 2001.

[minionofmidas]

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He beat Jim Hightower to become Agriculture Secretary, beat John Sharp to become Lieutenant Governor, beat well funded Tony Sanchez to be elected governor, and then beat three well known candidates to be re-elected to governor.

I was referring to the Governor's races only (I don't know anything of his life before 2000). Well-known yes. Overwhelmingly popular not exactly. Nevermind that the split in the opposition helped him - or that Friedman's and whatever-her-current-name-is' high vote totals are largely the result of the unattractiveness of both major party options.

If she won, could Perry appoint himself to her Senate seat?

It might depend on which she resigned.  She will have to file for governor by early January in 2010.  If she held another office, she might have to resign.  At least this is the case for the legislature, where candidates with more than a year remaining on a term for another office have to resign.  This is one reason why the filing period extends until January 2nd - so legislators can file for office without resigning their current term.

Ah yes, Arizona has these silly "resign to run" laws as well. One of the reasons why the best candidate Republicans had to offer in AZ-1 ended up not running at all (forget his name - something long and Polish. State Rep from the southern part of the US House district).

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Indeed - if he appointed himself Senator he would obviously not be running in the Governor primary.