Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) officially announced this morning that she will not resign her seat in the United States Senate, reversing her earlier plans to leave office before the end of her term in 2012.
Hutchison had previously challenged incumbent Gov. Rick Perry in the Republican primary, and had planned to resign during the primary itself. She later changed her mind about resigning during the primary, but had kept the door open to resigning afterward. Perry ultimately won the March 2 primary. Hutchison’s new decision comes after many Republicans, including the Republican leadership and the state’s 20Â GOP House members, had asked her to stay.
Had Hutchison resigned, Perry would have made a temporary appointment, and there would have also been an expedited special election. Although the GOP would have been favored to keep the seat, the election would likely have involved the expenditure of a lot of money on both sides.
During her announcement, in which she was accompanied by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and fellow Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who is also head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Hutchison said she was staying so that she could better oppose President Obama’s agenda.
“My experience will be better used fighting this effort by the president and the Congress to do so much to take away the essence of America,” said Hutchison.
Hutchison’s announcement has disrupted the plans of several Republicans who had already been running for the expected special election. One of those candidates, former Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams, released a statement that said in part: “Our campaign has more money, more volunteers and more momentum than anyone else. I have said from the beginning that I would be ready to run a campaign whether it was this year or in 2012. Today, we found out it will be in 2012. And without a doubt, I am ready!”
