Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison to Step Down

[cali]

By Chris Cillizza
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 29, 2009; 3:02 PM

Update, 3:35 p.m.: A source close to Perry predicts the special election will be held before May, noting that the governor has the sole authority to decide when the race will be run and believes the state needs a full time senator sooner rather than later. Developing....

Original Post

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's (R-Texas) announcement that she will resign her seat this fall sets off a rare Senate special election next spring.

"The actual leaving of the Senate will be sometime -- October, November -- that, in that time frame," Hutchison told Mark Davis, a conservative talk radio host in Dallas, this morning.

<snip>

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/29/AR2009072902398.html

[spanone]

1. kick & r

[BuyingThyme]

2. Do we have a chance in hell? ...Err, I mean, Texas?

[redqueen]

8. Yes.

A slim one, but it's there.

Perry's done a lot to turn off the voters here... not to mention our state legislature.

[BuyingThyme]

11. Throw us a name.

[redqueen]

14. Radnofsky and Noriega are the first two that came to mind...

Radnofsky is already gunning for it.

[BuyingThyme]

16. Thank you.

:hi:

[redqueen]

20. My pleasure!

:hi:

[cloudbase]

22. Bill White or

John Sharp.

My money is on Sharp. Excellent name recognition statewide and should do well with the Republicans who are pissed off with goodhair.

[redqueen]

27. Yeah,

Sharp would do better than White, I think.

[Jane Austin]

30. John Sharp

HAS won statewide office before, and he has raised money and has already announced for the seat.

Both Radnovsky and Noriega have run and lost before, and got depressingly little attention.

[redqueen]

32. Yeah... he's been out a good long while, though.

I thought Radnofsky had thrown her hat into the ring already, too... :shrug:

[tbyg52]

55. Really? I thought she was running for Attorney General....?

http://www.radnofsky.com/
http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/22118
http://mysapolitics.com/politics.php/2009/07/17/barbara-ann-radnofsky-for-texas-attorney-2011

Do you have newer information?

[redqueen]

36. You might find this interesting:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/viewpoints/stories/DN-dreher_04edi.State.Edition1.25b83af.html

[BuyingThyme]

38. Thank you.

Those numbers are from right after the election. Hopefully they're holding.

[Xipe Totec]

3. Good riddance! n/t

[joeybee12]

4. Some say she a Repuke we can work with...I ask, when has she

supported a dem initiative?

[gimama]

28. NEVER...

I recently wrote her about some environmental issues & post-IKE concerns on Galveston..
(Example: the city insisting on cutting down 100 yr.old Oak trees, damaged by the storm. Some clearly dead, but many showing good signs of life, most with migatory birds' nests..but because of an arbitrary fema deadline, the city was hell-bent on cutting them down. As devastated as the Islanders have been, they were fighting HARD, to get more time for the Oaks to recover.)
So I get this email back from kbh, thanking me SO much for contacting her, & telling me she works SO hard to balance economics & the environment. I had laid out lots of details, options & ideas, & she totally dismissed it all. I don't even read cornyn's condescending replies any more. THEY do not read OUR letters..they do NOT care about Texas..THEY do NOT REPRESENT US.

Dang, now I'm cranky, again..
OH! but the OAKS on Galveston DID get a reprieve, till Nov.1st!!! YEA!
(& NO thanks to kbh or cornyn, only the Islanders' LOVE & EFFORTS!)

[tavalon]

53. Kay Bailey Hutchinson a Repuke you can work with?

Not on your life. She is a waste of air and will be of no good if she gets the governorship. She is awful. But then, so is Goodhair, so there ya go.

[Beaverhausen]

5. Is she having health issues?

I don't like her but I don't wish her any illness either.

Oops- I see she is going to run for Governor. OK, nevermind

[struggle4progress]

24. Kay should run for governor of Alaska: it looks now like she has the credentials

[Parche]

6. good riddance itch

:grr: :hi:

[gimama]

7. YEA!!! Happy Dance, for ME!

& I was needing a little goood news!

[progressoid]

35. A happy dance for all of us!

[gimama]

39. Yes! & I needed it, today! (n/t)

[TheKentuckian]

9. That's probably a net negative in the short term, anyway.

The replacement will be easier to beat but will likely be a bit lighter on the sanity scale.

[blogslut]

10. So, Perry is opting for a special election?

I'm not super knowledgeable about how things work but I think the TX governor has to option to simply appoint a replacement Senator. I wonder why he's choosing to hold a special election as opposed to a simple appointment, if indeed, he is/will?

[mzmolly]

12. I bet she's running for President?

:scared:

[cali]

13. no, she's running for guv.

[redqueen]

15. I cannot wait

to see her and Perry go at it.

[cali]

17. yeah, that's gonna be one fugly campaign.

[redqueen]

23. Actually, it's already started ...

but it's been understated so far. I look forward with glee to them both taking their gloves off.

[bullwinkle428]

26. What will be the gubernatorial campaign's main issue?

Which candidate can make secession happen more quickly?

[redqueen]

34. RINO vs. wacko fringe righty would be an entertaining one.

Hutchison isn't as solidly republican as many republicans seem to want these days, despite her being a southerner (re: Voinovich's comments). Perry calls her a DC insider, she accuses Perry of weakening support for the GOP in Texas. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. The two have no love for each other, that's for sure.

[mzmolly]

18. Good.

I think. ;)

[Tikki]

19. Maybe she is going on tour with Palin....

Palin-pa-looza

Starring 'I was a Governor'..Sarah Palin

also, appearing are Michelle "Care-EEE" Prejean and K-B Hutchinson..




Tikki

[Jane Austin]

31. Nope. Palin is for Rick Perry.

Of course.

[lostnfound]

50. both empty suits with well-coifed hair

sorta.

[lpbk2713]

21. Will someone please throw a bucket of water on her?

Thanks



K&R

[Union Yes]

33. I'm melting, MELTING!

:hi:

[Union Yes]

25. Here's to hoping for a miracle. A progressive winning in Texas.

[Jane Austin]

29. Not soon enough. ....................... n/t

[TexasObserver]

37. In the last major recession, she settled a $10 mil bank loan for $1 million.

It was revealed when a bank failed and had to be taken over by the FDIC.

She and her husband, Ray Hutchison, had guaranteed a note. They got a sweetheart deal because they were influential Republicans.

[Douglas Carpenter]

40. Most interesting. Back when we were all waiting to hear who McCain had picked for the V,P. slot, I

had asked myself, "who would I pick if I was a Republican operative and I wanted the Republicans to actually win?" Sen. Kay Baily Hutchison was the name I came up with as the candidate who could most strengthen the Republican ticket and possibly even pull away some Democratic leaning swing voters and maybe even some Democratic voters.

She after all does come off as a quite dignified and articulate woman which is precisely why the current Republican Party base would have preferred Sarah Palin who is not. Sen. Hutchison could have actually broadened the appeal of the Republican ticket - but at the cost of displeasing the Rush Limbaugh/Fox News - faux populist crowd who now dominate the Republican Party base.

[sabrina 1]

41. She was upset over not being the VP choice for McCain.

So were many in the party. I remember the open mike when a Conservative commentator (forget who but one of the comparatively more reasonable and intelligent ones) was overheard speaking about the stupidity of picking Palin, and airc, mentioning K.B. Hutchinson being upset over it.

I wonder if that's why she's stepping down, or has she given a reason?

[RB TexLa]

42. She let them know very early that she had no interest in being the VP candidate.

[devilgrrl]

43. Maybe she'll go back to being a news reporter.

eom

[Cleita]

44. Choking...don't know if this is good or could be worse.

That took me by surprise.

[UTUSN]

45. Has she stopped SLAPPING HER STAFF?!1 n/t

[Texasgal]

46. Ciao Bella Kay!

Don't let the door hit ya!

[Texasgal]

47. Ciao Bella Kay!

Don't let the door hit ya!

[WI_DEM]

48. So for a few months the GOP will have only 39 seats in the Senate--Dems should take advantage

of that fact and ram thru the Senate as many bills as possible, but I'm sure Reid will have excuses not to do that either.

[tekisui]

49. Repukes love to quit at sights of greener pastures.

[saltpoint]

51. and may that stepdown be off an exceedingly lofty cliff over a pit of

half-starved tigers.

[Wednesdays]

52. So, Perry's not going to appoint somebody for the time being?

:shrug:

[bluesmail]

54. Just the other day I heard she was challenging Perry, for

Governor b/c his numbers were so low. Sorry I forget who said it. Head hurts b/c it's stuffed too thick.