Free Republic

Each campaign, expecting turnout surge among casual Republican voters, hammers away at conservative credentials. By Jason EmbryAMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Sunday, December 13, 2009 Recent statements and strategy decisions have made clear that U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison believes it is Republicans — and not independents or Democrats, as some others have suggested — who can lift her to victory over Gov. Rick Perry in the March GOP primary.Hutchison's campaign expects a surge of voters who support Republicans but do not regularly vote in Republican primaries. And to appeal to those voters, she has in recent weeks stressed her support from...

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison has secured $4.85 million in funding to be used by border sheriffs to stop drug and human trafficking. The money is coming from the fiscal year 2010 Omnibus Appropriations bill. It will help border sheriffs pay for overtime, hire additional deputies, and purchase equipment. This project supports Operation Linebacker, an initiative of the Texas Border Sheriff's Coalition. "Our law enforcement personnel along the border are regularly under assault, and drug and human traffickers continue to threaten the safety of our communities," Hutchison said in a news release. "Sheriffs patrolling the border need additional reinforcements to...

Conservative South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint (R) will endorse Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams' Senate candidacy later today, a move designed to thin the GOP field running to replace Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R). "Democrats are trying to catch Republicans flat-footed and pick off the Texas Senate seat," said a source close to DeMint who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about strategic matters. "This endorsement will signal its time for conservatives and independents to rally behind Michael." The seat is not formally vacant yet as Hutchison has delayed her planned resignation until after her March 2 primary fight against...

Governor Rick Perry is turning up the heat on Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison's record as one of Washington's biggest spending Republicans. Fiscal and economic issues is, after all, Rick Perry's strong suit heading into this primary election, which should prove to be a tough and bloody one. I'm supporting Rick Perry, but will obviously vote for Kay Baby in the general election should she win the primary. The following ads sure do hurt, though. Don't they, Kay? *-*Video @ site*-* Frankly, Kay Bailey Hutchison has really picked a bad time to challenge Rick Perry for governor. While she isn't getting...

There have been many invitations to participate in debates and forums coming through our (Debra Medina's) office. The public certainly deserves to hear from each of the candidates. Unfortunately, we’re receiving multiple reports that each time we confirm, the governor cancels. It seems that Rick Perry has learned, over the years, that in order to protect his incumbent status he must be in total control of who he is on stage with and holds the media hostage to his demands.

Here is video of Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison reacting to Sen. Harry Reid's outrageous statement today in which he compared opponents to President Obama's Government Health Care Plan to those who supported slavery. Hutchison said Reid's comments were "so over the top" it is unbelievable, and she said that kind of rhetoric has no place in the Senate. She believes it is a sign of desperation on the part of the Democrats. . . . . (VIDEO)

Hutchison officially in the race By Jason Embry | Monday, December 7, 2009, 09:29 AM U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison filed to run for governor this morning at state Republican Party headquarters. So for any doubters out there, we now know that we really are going to see the long-awaited showdown between the two biggest names in Texas politics: Hutchison and Gov. Rick Perry, her fellow Republican. Hutchison rattled off a familiar list of issues she’s stressing in her campaign: protecting private-property rights, reforming the Texas Department of Transportation, protecting the borders, improving schools. She again criticized Perry for...

Mayor Bill White will formally enter the race for governor today, instantly becoming the Democrats' best hope of winning a statewide office in seven years. White, a three-term mayor who is balding and known for something of a bland personality, is expected use self-deprecating humor to tell a Hilton Americas crowd of supporters that he knows he is not a “perfect candidate” but is someone who can get things done. White has said he wants to end “strident partisanship” in Austin. He will tell supporters he wants to improve high school graduation rates and slow the rising costs of...

Perry makes it official, files for third full term Gov. Rick Perry already holds the record for the longest serving governor in state history, but today he filed to paperwork to officially become a Republican candidate for an unprecedented third term in office. Of course, Republican U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and activist Debra Medina hope to stop Perry in his tracks in the March 2 GOP primary. Hutchison is expected to formally file for the race Friday shortly before Houston Mayor Bill White jumps into the Democratic gubernatorial contest. Perry became governor in December 2000 when then-Gov. George...

By Jason Embry | Tuesday, November 24, 2009, 04:14 PM The high command of Gov. Rick Perry’s re-election campaign is encouraging supporters to participate in something called Operation Intervention, which is an effort to convert supporters of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison before the filing period begins Dec. 3. The goal of this operation seems to be convincing Hutchison not to run. In a Saturday memo to “interested parties,” Perry consultant Dave Carney wrote, “Between now and the filing period December 3rd, I would like to ask you to engage in Operation Intervention by reaching out to Hutchison supporters...

Republican women convening at the Galveston Island Convention Center this weekend said they are “energized” about the 2010 and 2012 elections and view them as a turning point for the state and nation. Women from across the state, many of whom donned Republican red, gathered Saturday for the third of a four-day convention hosted biennially by the Texas Federation of Republican Women. Highlighting the convention’s agenda during the last few days were keynote addresses by party front-runners Gov. Rick Perry and gubernatorial challenger Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison Hutchison addressed the delegation Saturday morning announcing, as expected, she won’t resign her...

WASHINGTON — Gov. Rick Perry has been campaigning against Washington, and Washington is returning the favor — no endorsements here. In the back and forth between Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, and Perry over gubernatorial endorsements, it’s no contest when it comes to the Texas congressional delegation: It’s Hutchison 10 and Perry 0.Ten of the 20 U.S. House Republicans have publicly endorsed Hutchison, and insiders say it is unlikely that any of the remaining 10 will endorse Perry, preferring to remain neutral.Rep. Joe Barton, R-Arlington, who until now has not said what he would do, told the Star-Telegram that...

Washington (CNN) -- Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who had said she would resign her seat to run for governor of Texas, plans to announce Saturday she will remain in the Senate as she seeks the Republican Party's gubernatorial nomination, a Hutchison aide tells CNN. "She will announce tomorrow at the Texas Federation of Republican Women's Convention in Galveston that she will not be resigning her seat before the primary," said the aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "She is running for governor because she feels it is important to fight on two fronts, for the race for governor...

This was broadcast as breaking news on WOAI at about 12:07 pm 10/28/2009. There's not yet a link to this story at their site.

PFLUGERVILLE, Texas — Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison went to a shooting range Friday to remind voters of her support for gun rights by pointing out her plans to weigh in on an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court case. With gunfire popping in the background, Hutchison said she will help lead a bipartisan group from Congress in filing a legal brief urging the court to rule gun ownership is an individual right that applies at the state and local levels, in addition to the federal level. Both Hutchison and Gov. Rick Perry, who are squaring off in the March Republican primary, say...

Kay Bailey Hutchison is running for governor here in Texas. Face it, she has not been a part of the solution in Washington, she has been a part of the problem. She has done nothing to control run away spending. She has supported and even offered bills that added to the deficit. Hutchison is no conservative. She is part of the problem here in America.

State GOP chair resigns to work for Perry By Jason Embry | Saturday, September 26, 2009, 01:35 PM Tina Benkiser will leave her post as chairwoman of the Texas Republican Party next month so she can join Gov. Rick Perry’s campaign as a senior adviser. In announcing her move, Benkiser called Perry the “only true conservative” in the race — a clear shot at U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who is challenging Perry for the Republican nomination. While the move was unexpected, it makes sense that Benkiser would back Perry. She comes straight from the social conservative base that...

Weekend highlights and the day ahead Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison aren’t doing a very good job of hiding their personal displeasure that the other is running for governor. A race between two well-funded — I mean, really well-funded — politicians for an office this big would be heated no matter the personal relationship of the candidates. And yet it can’t help matters that, if you listen closely, it’s clear that Perry and Hutchison each feel that the other has no business running. You could say that each has expressed a certain entitlement to the...

The volatile 2010 Republican Primary race for governor in Texas has become a toss-up, with Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison currently inching ahead of incumbent Rick Perry by two points – 40% to 38%. A new Rasmussen Reports Election 2010 telephone survey of Texas GOP Primary voters finds just three percent (3%) support Debra Medina, a tea party activist who joined the GOP race this month. But 19% are not sure who they favor.

There seems to be some confusion in the Debra Medina for governor campaign on the definition of "support." An earlier version of this story reported that Medina's campaign announced Wednesday that Rep. Ron Paul is backing her. The campaign plugged a letter written by Paul in which he calls Medina a "real defender of liberty." But I just got a call from Jesse Benton, who said he's media director for Paul's congressional reelection campaign and the political director to Paul's political action committee, Liberty PAC. He said the letter is not an endorsement for Medina's campaign at all. Paul has...