Kay Bailey Hutchison

I find some of the rhetoric going on between Senator Hutchison and Governor Perry to be already a bit harsh, so here are the bare bones of the story:

Hutchison told WBAP-AM (820) host Mark Davis that she would officially kick-off her campaign in August.

“Formal announcement: I am in. Then the actual leaving of the Senate will be sometime — October, November — that, in that time frame,” she said.

It was her most definitive statement yet that she would leave the Senate in the middle of her third term.

This being a Senate seat, there will be an appointment made by the Governor, followed by a special election for the remaining two years of Senator Hutchison’s term. As the disclaimer below makes clear, my recommendation for Governor Perry is to appoint Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams for the position, on the grounds that Williams is a). a solid conservative; b). prepared (thanks to his role as Railroad Commissioner*) to be a powerful voice on energy policy; and c). actively running for the spot. Oh, and d). he’ll be talking at the RS Gathering. Continue reading Kay Bailey Hutchison will resign seat to run for Governor of Texas.

This is bad?

Sen. John Cornyn is worried that Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison is going to retire early this fall to run for Governor, but I’m missing the problem here (via Political Wire):

“My guess,” he told Texas reporters at his Senate office today, is that Hutchison will resign “this fall sometime.”

That would allow Perry to appoint an interim senator and allow a special election to take place in May 2010 instead of this November (which would happen if she resigned this spring or summer).

It seems pretty simple:

Hutchison resigns.
Governor Perry appoints Texas Railroad Commissioner* Michael Williams to be interim Senator.
Williams wins the special election.

Come on, Senator Cornyn. This isn’t exactly rocket science.

Moe Lane Continue reading So we give Michael Williams a few months of incumbency as Senator.