JULY 31, 2009
Hutchison vs. Perry Promises a Texas-Size Brawl
Senator's Decision to Challenge Governor in Republican Primary Is Expected to Pit Moderates Against Social Conservatives
By LESLIE EATON
WSJ
DALLAS -- Texas is bracing for a ferocious bout of political campaigning now that Kay Bailey Hutchison has confirmed she will leave the U.S. Senate to challenge Gov. Rick Perry for his job. The sniping has already begun. Mr. Perry is on a "quest to be governor for life," a spokesman for Ms. Hutchison told the Dallas Morning News on Wednesday. The governor's spokesman shot back, telling the paper that Ms. Hutchison should stay in the Senate because "even though she's failed miserably at it, she was elected to serve that term." The state's top two Republicans would face off in the Texas gubernatorial primary in March 2010. Meanwhile, Ms. Hutchison's bid will set off a free-for-all over the Senate seat she will vacate.
Ms. Hutchison is expected to try to appeal to moderate Republicans and women. She may also attract Democrats and independents to participate in the GOP primary, which is open to all voters. She has been criticizing Mr. Perry for rejecting federal stimulus aid that could have helped the unemployed in a state where the jobless rate is a relatively low 7.5%, but rising. Now, she says, the state will have to raise taxes on businesses to refill the unemployment-insurance fund. In contrast to Ms. Hutchison's appeal to moderates, Mr. Perry has been stressing issues that play to the social conservatives who are most likely to vote in the primary. Mr. Perry has publicly sympathized with Texans who might wish to secede from the Union. He has attended antitax "tea parties." He recently criticized the Obama administration's healthcare plan as a violation of states' rights.
Ms. Hutchison's announcement Wednesday that she plans to leave Washington by November to campaign full-time for governor wasn't totally unexpected. She and Mr. Perry have each raised millions of dollars and have been trading political jabs for some time. "Boxing match," "bloodbath" and "dog fight" are some of the metaphors political pundits in Texas are now using to describe the coming governor's race, which -- at least in Texas -- promises to eclipse the contest to succeed Ms. Hutchison in the Senate. "In Texas, everyone thinks being governor is a better job than being senator," said Calvin Jillson, a professor of political science at Southern Methodist University.
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Whether the Republicans will have a lock on Ms. Hutchison's Senate seat remains unclear, handicappers say. Led by Texas Sen. John Cornyn, the GOP is already fighting for 36 Senate seats nationwide that will be contested in 2010, "and this would be 37," said Jennifer Duffy, who tracks Senate races for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report in Washington... The Senate race will ultimately be filled through the kind of special election that, in years past, has drawn throngs of candidates. Ms. Hutchison herself won such a battle in 1993, but only in a runoff after eking out a 99-vote lead in a race split among two dozen candidates. A special election to fill the Senate seat could occur as late as May next year, but Mr. Perry's spokesman said he would probably schedule one as soon as possible if there is a vacancy. In the meantime, he would name an interim senator. Local speculation focuses on Texas Lieut. Governor David Dewhurst as his likely choice. On the Democratic side, two Senate candidates have already launched campaigns and started raising money: Bill White, the mayor of Houston, and John Sharp, the former state comptroller.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124900260539195723.html (subscription)
Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page A4
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