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United States News Title: Texas US Sen. Hutchison plans to retire next year WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, a moderate Republican who has easily kept her Texas seat for nearly two decades even as the state grew more conservative, announced Thursday she would retire next year at the end of her term. Hutchison, a former television reporter and University of Texas cheerleader, said in a letter to supporters that she would not seek re-election in 2012. She made similar statements when toying with whether to return to Texas to run for governor, but Gov. Rick Perry's surprisingly decisive victory against her in last year's GOP primary ended her state office ambitions, at least for now. The senator, now 67 with two young adopted daughters, said the last two years have been difficult on her family. But last year, she said she had to stay in the Senate to fight the health care bill that ultimately became law rather than resign and focus on her gubernatorial ambitions. In her letter, the state's senior senator said she had intended to leave office sooner but was persuaded to stay on to "avoid disadvantage to our state." "I felt it would be wrong to leave the Senate during such a critical period," Hutchison said. "Instead of putting my seat into a special election, I felt it was my duty to use my experience to fight the massive spending that has increased our national debt; the government takeover of the our health care system; and the growth of the federal bureaucracy, which threatens our economy." Hutchison said she would "continue that fight" until the end of her term. She is the first senator to announce retirement plans ahead of the 2012 election. Although she holds more moderate views than many Texas Republicans, Hutchison remains very popular. Some polls during the governor's race suggested that Texans didn't want her to be governor only because they wanted her to remain in the Senate. Her decision closes one of the more remarkable and eventful political careers in a state full of them. It is also likely to prompt a bruising race to replace her. Within hours of her announcement, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst inched closer to entering the race, even as he began presiding over a legislative session in Austin. "I fully intend to explore running for the United States Senate, and should I run, I will run with the intention of winning and continuing to serve the people of Texas just as I have done throughout my career," the Houston multimillionaire said. First elected to the Senate in 1993, Hutchison won a special election to replace Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, who left his seat to serve as President Bill Clinton's treasury secretary. She was elected to a full term in 1994 and comfortably won reelection in 2000 and 2006. Hutchison's career in Texas politics stretches back more than 30 years, beginning when she was elected as a state representative in 1972. It was while serving in the Texas statehouse that she met her husband, Ray Hutchison, a successful bond lawyer. Growing up in the Houston suburb of La Marque, Texas, she had hoped for a legal career, but after being turned down by large law firms because of her gender, she shifted first to journalism, then to banking before building a successful career in politics. After serving two terms as a state representative, Hutchison was appointed to the National Transportation Safety Board in 1976. She lost a race for the U.S. House in 1982, then left politics for work in the banking industry. She returned in 1990, winning a race to become the state treasurer. She parlayed that into a victory in the 1993 special election, before winning reelection. In 1994, she was indicted on charges of official misconduct and record tampering from when she served as state treasurer. Travis County prosecutor Ronnie Earle, who would later bring charges against former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, dropped the case midway through Hutchison's trial, and she was acquitted. In the Senate, Hutchison helped devise federal welfare funding formulas for Texas and other high-growth states, worked on defense policy issues as a member of the Appropriations subcommittee on defense and military construction and, after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, led an effort to convert airport security screeners into federal workers. She also has maintained a national profile, regularly appearing on short lists to be a running mate on a GOP presidential ticket and authoring or co-authoring three books on women in leadership. Hutchison has often set a softer tone in a state known for hard-ball politics. In her gubernatorial primary against Perry, she ran as a more moderate alternative. Unlike her junior colleague, Republican Sen. John Cornyn, Hutchison also supports legalized abortion. In recent years, as the politics of Texas have tilted further to the right, Hutchison has worked to portray herself as more conservative. Cornyn said Thursday that Hutchison "serves as an example to us all." He called her a leader in Texas and the Senate. Former President George W. Bush said Thursday that he and his wife, Laura, thanked Hutchison for her public service. He called her "an effective leader who has served her fellow citizens with honor and dignity." Republicans and Democrats both expect a competitive race to replace Hutchison, who will have represented Texas for 19 years in the Senate when her term expires. Dewhurst, the popular lieutenant governor, has personal wealth from his work in the energy business, a critical advantage in a vast and expensive state like Texas. Dewhurst put out a statement on Thursday praising Hutchison and saying he was considering entering the race but would not make an immediate announcement because "today is Kay Bailey Hutchison's day." Other Republican contenders could include Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, Railroad commissioners Elizabeth Ames Jones and Michael Williams, and former Secretary of State Roger Williams. On the Democratic side, former Houston Mayor Bill White, who lost a gubernatorial race to Perry in 2010, and former congressman and current U.S. Trade Rep. Ron Kirk are potential contenders. White spent more than $1 million on a potential Senate race and the governor's race in 2010.
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