Dewhurst may seek Senate seat instead of reelection as Lite Gov
Speculation is rampant that the Dew has set his sights on the U.S. Senate rather than run for reelection. Since Kay Bailey Hutchison’s seat will not be vacant until she resigns, probably in June, Dewhurst must hope that Perry appoints him to fill the vacancy. As everybody knows, they haven’t exactly been bosom buddies. But there are sound reasons why Perry might favor Dewhurst against other hopefuls (former secretary of state Roger Williams, railroad commissioners Elizabeth Ames Jones and Michael Williams, state senator Florence Shapiro). First, Republican donors have been hurt by the financial crisis and political money isn’t as easy to come by. Dewhurst can self-fund. So can Roger Williams, but Dewhurst is better known and would have a better chance to keep the seat in the Republican column in the special election that would follow the appointment. Second, by creating a vacancy in the office of lieutenant governor, Perry could play kingmaker in the scramble to succeed Dewhurst as the presiding officer of the Senate. In the case of a vacancy, the Senate chooses its successor from its own members. That’s the kind of political gamesmanship Perry loves. Jane Nelson, Troy Fraser, and Tommy Williams would be in the first tier of possible successors. This scenario is not a good one for attorney general Abbott, who had planned to run for the office in 2010. He might find himself facing a strong incumbent backed by Perry. Or, a new candidate could emerge with Perry’s blessing–most likely, agriculture commissioner Todd Staples.
Tagged: david dewhurst, kay bailey hutchison, rick perry, senate, todd staples.
texun says:
He might want Dewhurst of out town.
Jones and Shapiro are pretty bright, so Perry won’t favor them for any kind of office. Perry likes women to be like Sarah Barracuda–pretty and not too intelligent.
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Get it right says:
Dewhurst would make an excellent US Senator. I hope he gets it. But what if Perry decides to appoint himself and Dewhurst is slotted to the Gov’s office and has to run against KBH? At least that gives Abbott a chance to run for Lt. Gov. along with Staples, Combs, Williams, et al
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paulburka says:
To texun –
That’s a cheap shot at Perry’s view of women. Deirdre Delisi, for one, is as sharp as anybody in the Capitol.
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Anonymous says:
Why would KBH wait until June to resign – assuming she would resign at all – that makes no sense whatsoever.
I don’t think she will resign and give the man she wants to unseat the pleasure of choosing her successor.
A Perry appointee could be in the U.S. Senate saying “look at everything I found wrong” or “Kay sure didn’t take care of this.”
But why this really makes no sense is because if Kay quit after the November election, then everything Rick Perry would do during this upcoming legislative session would be scrutinized under a political lense. KBH would be free to campaign – and raise money – while he is in Austin unable to raise money for six months.
Everybody needs to rethink this June resignation rumor, because it makes no sense. She’ll resign this year – or not at all.
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paulburka says:
The reason for Hutchison to continue to serve in the Senate is that she won’t have to take a position on everything Perry does during the session. Once she officially becomes a candidate, she will be asked about her position on Perry’s policies. She wants to be able to control her interaction with the media.
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Anonymous says:
Why would KBH take a position on everything Perry does duriung the session? When has that ever happened? And just because Burka might expect that to be the case, doesn’t mean it would occur.
And who says Kay has to talk to the media that much during a session? Who says she has to ‘offically’ become a candidate before June? Nonsense.
KBH has the perfect excuse to say “we need to focus on the session and not make important matters political footballs.”
Burka is running Campaign ‘72 in his head, not Campaign ‘12.
What KBH will do (if she follows this path) is go put another $10-$15 million in the bank from January – June of next year while Perry raises ZERO.
But she can only do that as a private citizen, not as a federal official controlled by the BCRA.
All those wealthy donors of hers who have been limited to $4100 a pop can suddenly donate $10K, $25K, $100K, $500K – no limits. And many of them are aching to do just that.
So July 2009 comes around with KBH having $20 million (or more) in the bank and Perry perhaps $4-5 million.
Then she will start hammering him while he is trying to raise money to catch up and he never does because she reminds people constantly that he wants to be Governor for 14 long years.
Game. Set. Match. All to KBH.
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justus says:
i think the perry self-appointment–thus leaving Dewhurst to take on the monstrously popular and well-fund KBH–is diabolical, delicious and likely.
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the truth hurts says:
I think this is all wishful thinking by the insiders. I perdict a boring 2010 cycle in Texas.
KBH will never pull the trigger. She won’t want to spoil her image. She’ll never have the UT law school named after her or whatnot as a beat up politlcal hack/loser. she may ride out in the sunset as a statemen but never a warrior.
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