Texas senator stands firm, stalling others' plans

By APRIL CASTRO
Associated Press Writer

AUSTIN — It’s too early to say whether Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison will succeed in her run for governor, but she has already upset a slew of ambitious politicians who are having to delay or rethink their plans for moving up the food chain.
Since Hutchison’s announcement last week that she would not resign her office until after the March primary, the possibility of a rare vacancy in the U.S. Senate has dissipated. The domino effect stretches from Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who was widely thought to covet the seat, to the many who would have vacated their seats to make a run for the one Dewhurst now holds, and on down the line.
“It is hard to go out and campaign if she’s not going to resign,” said Republican pollster and consultant Mike Baselice, who does consulting work for Dewhurst and Gov. Rick Perry. “She has gone back and forth so many times in her decision to resign or not resign, it’s anybody’s guess as to what she does next.”
If Hutchison was to resign her seat before her term expires in 2013, Gov. Rick Perry would get to appoint an interim senator until a special election could be held. The earliest he could call a special election would be May 2010, depending on how much lead time he has to order the election, or he could declare an “emergency election” on any date.
“It’s kinda like campaign purgatory, somewhere between heaven and hell,” said Republican consultant Bryan Eppstein. “The voters don’t have a clear picture of when the election date will be and the voters always need a clear picture of when the election is.”
Candidates now must decide — before the six-week candidate filing period starts next month — if they want to pin their hopes on the seat opening up next year, or stay put.
Dewhurst has said he will seek another four-year term as lieutenant governor. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, who has had his eyes on the lieutenant governor’s office, also must decide if he wants to run for re-election or wait until Dewhurst leaves office. The same is true for Abbott’s ambitious protege Ted Cruz, former state solicitor general who is now a private-practice attorney. He’s been actively campaigning for attorney general for months.
State Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, also had been plotting a run for attorney general in a move that could have opened up a competitive seat in the Texas House. But, seeing the signs pile up, he withdrew just days before Hutchison announced her decision to delay her resignation.
“For a statewide campaign I need a little runway to take off,” Branch said. “We just saw that getting shorter and shorter.”
Republican Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams isn’t up for re-election until 2014, but he’s staying in the race for the seat Hutchison now holds, consultant Corbin Casteel said.
“It’s frustrating,” Casteel said. “But he’s a candidate whether the race is in May of 2010 or November 2012 or any time in between.”
Besides his frustration, the delay also complicates the campaign money game, he said.
“Fundraising was difficult before and it’s going to get even more difficult,” Casteel said. “Republican donors are not going to get engaged in this race until there is actually a race.”
In the most recent campaign finance reports, it was a Democrat, Houston Mayor Bill White, who had a clear edge in fundraising for the seat that has been held by a Republican for more than a decade.
White and former comptroller John Sharp, also a Democrat, say the delay doesn’t change their plans for a Senate run.
“I said when I got into this process last December that I would be a candidate when the seat becomes available, whether that is in 2012 or anytime before then,” Sharp said. “I’m campaigning full time and will continue to.”
Of the others who say they will be in the race for Hutchison’s Senate seat:
— Former Secretary of State Roger Williams says Hutchison’s timing won’t impact his candidacy;
— Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones, also a Republican, isn’t up for re-election until 2012 and her campaign says they are proceeding as planned, and;
— State Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, plans to file for re-election to the state Senate, at least temporarily putting U.S. Senate aspirations aside. Shapiro said she would “adjust her U.S. Senate campaign based on the future resignation decision” of Hutchison.
For now, they will have to wait for Hutchison to make a move.
“I have learned to expect the unexpected with her,” said Baselice.

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