Posts Tagged Rick Perry

There’s been a lot of political news nationally, which I’ve been doing my best to keep up with. Here are a couple interesting stories and storylines from my pet race, however, the one for Texas’s top executive job.

The Associated Press is wondering what national implications a contentious, perhaps bitter primary between Gov. Rick Perry and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison may have. An interesting note from the article: if Hutchison wins, especially if she wins by some margin, as a more moderate Republican running against a more conservative incumbent in this primary, her stock will likely be through the roof among national Republicans.

And who are the important players in this race? Besides the candidates themselves, of course, they are hiring teams to coordinate their activities. W. Gardner Selby outlines some of their team for the Statesman. As the race heats up, the staffs will expand.

In recent days, Gov. Rick Perry and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison have been keeping very different company.

Hutchison recently penned an editorial on “reinvigorating the War on Cancer” with Sen. Edward Kennedy, affectionately known by some as the liberal lion, and spent Friday night praising Hillary Clinton, a controversial figure still for some on the right, for “keeping a confident face” despite losing so closely to President Obama in last year’s Democratic presidential primary contests. While fighting cancer is not a partisan issue and Clinton’s poise in last year’s primary has been roundly acknowledged, the company she’s keeping could raise eyebrows as she enters a contentious Republican primary. Coupled with Hutchison’s recent criticism of Perry’s handling of schools, health care, and unemployment insurance, normally Democratic platforms, and her campaign website’s linking to an article critical of Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, the conservative darling who in February endorsed her opponent, it does not appear to be Hutchison’s goal to burnish her conservative credentials.

Perry has been touring around the state boasting about his rejection of $555 million in stimulus funds with business leaders, Sen. John McCain is Twittering praise of the governor’s border plan, and has been basically endorsed by the Club for Growth, a group Perry is rumored to have been courting, in a press release that had very few nice things to say about Hutchison. A call to the Club for Growth seeking information on the extent of their interest in this race was not returned before the weekend.

There can be no doubt that these candidates are deliberate about their public schedules and allies.  The decidedly dissimilar tactics being waged is an interesting footnote, and others have observed that Hutchison may be courting votes across the aisle. Because in Texas, voters do not register by party, it is plausible that without a compelling race in the primaries, many Democrats will cross party lines to have their voices heard.

After a dustup on the stimulus early this week, the contenders for the Republican nomination for governor in Texas, Rick Perry and Kay Bailey Hutchison, haven’t made campaign headlines since.  However, President Obama’s Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced the administration’s border plan Tuesday, prompting responses from both the governor and the senator.

Gov. Rick Perry:

“While we appreciate the additional investigative resources, what we really need are more Border Patrol agents and officers at the bridges to conduct increased northbound and southbound inspections, as well as additional funding for local law enforcement along the border to deny Mexican drug cartels access to the United States.”

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison:

“I’m pleased that the secretary is supporting . . . Project Gunrunner and assistance for local law enforcement, two programs which I have been leading support for in the Senate. More must be done . . . to ensure that we can fight the drug cartels and do away with the human trafficking and violence along our border.”

While in recent days Hutchison has critiqued Perry’s record on the stimulus, health care, and education, the border is an issue of particular interest to Texans and will undoubtedly come up over the course of the campaign.

The Houston Chronicle posts a video of Hutchison critiquing Perry’s handling of the stimulus, and then Perry’s response.

Yesterday, we pointed out that it was imperative for Hutchison to be able to draw differences with Perry on critical issues; otherwise, he’s an incumbent popular with base Republicans and will be very tough to defeat.  Watching the video, it’s clear she’s struggling to pinpoint exactly what the difference between them is (she’d try harder?).  And she kept saying she agreed with Perry; if she’s giving a voters a reason to give her the job he currently has, that probably needs to stop.

Perry, on the other hand, knows his position, sticks to it, and leaves.  No parsing.

I think Perry won the exchange here–not necessarily on substance (that’s obviously up to voters), but that his message is clear.  Let it serve as an early-in-the-race lesson to Hutchison: when the race heats up, her current popularity alone won’t let her sail to victory.  She still needs a compelling reason to run.

Update: The Perry camp is now criticizing the wishy-washy nature of Hutchison’s response, citing a First Reading post that said Hutchison’s response was up to interpretation.

After a long, extended weekend in the Texas capital (the SXSW festival ended yesterday), we’re returning to a great number of stories developing. Note that Hutchison’s rhetoric is largely trying to give her a reason to run. She’s trying to simultaneously steal his mojo and carve out an agenda that makes it seem like it’s not all about her. This is critical in the early going.

Why? According to the Public Policy Poll released late last month where Hutchison won landslide numbers, Perry was still favorable with 60% of Republicans and the Texas economy is relatively strong (Texas’s unemployment numbers for Jan. ‘09 was 6.4%, while other large states were worse: California, 10.1%; Michigan, 11.6%; New York, 7.0%; Pennsylvania, 7.0%). Perry’s own re-election website is touting a survey that claims Texas is the best state to do business; Texas is also home to more Fortune 500 companies than any other state. In other words, if the majority of Republicans are happy, and Perry can focus on the economy, voters may think there’s no need to change the old guard.

Among the reasons Hutchison and her supporters are using: it’s her turn, he can’t take all of the credit (for the good economy), and there are issues she would address that he hasn’t (rising property taxes, drop out rates). The latter, to me, seems like the most sensible strategy.

Via First Reading:

Perhaps the most telling comment was from Joe Ratcliff of Austin, who told Herman about the 2006 race, “There was some encouragement I think to Kay behind the scenes, ‘if you will not run this time, we’ll be supportive next time, because he wants to serve one more term.’”
That sentiment may be the toughest obstacle for Perry to overcome, not among voters, but among donors — that Hutchison has stepped aside previously to avoid a primary battle and now it’s her turn.

Also via First Reading, a link to an interview Gov. Perry had with Jenny Hoff over the weekend.

Via Texas Politics, Hutchison says Perry can’t take all the credit for the Texas economic situation:

Hutchison said the governor’s economic development fund is a good thing, but she said the economy has outpaced the national economy “not because he’s handing our $5 million checks for companies.”
Hutchison said Texas’ position in the middle of the country with good weather, anti-union laws and a lack of an income tax are the reason’s that the state leads the nation in the location of Fortune 500 companies. But she said rising property taxes and high public school drop-out rates are endangering the state’s economic future.

Via Trail Blazers, Hutchison says Perry is not a leader for rejecting the stimulus funds—and that instead, it could be a bad decision:

“From what I heard him say, he just turned it down out of hand,” Hutchison told reporters following an appearance at the Texas Daily Newspaper Association confab. “I agree with him on the point that the federal government should not have mandated specifics in the coverage.”
She added: “I think a leader would be taking time to look at all of these aspects and coming up with a better solution.”

Clearly the Hutchison team is on message early and often, especially in light of the high-profile decision Perry made on rejecting the stimulus.  While Hutchison may have an early lead, I think it’s vital that she makes a compelling case to voters that Perry is somehow inadequate (and that whatever quality he lacks, she has in abundance) if she wants to win.

This race is sure to tighten.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison appears to be set on her plans for 2010 and beyond.  With a year to go until the Texas gubernatorial primary, Roll Call reports that the senator is running for that contest, and that she’s likely to keep her job in Washington during the primary bout brewing between her and Governor Rick Perry.

Hutchison was expected to resign from her post in Washington in order to focus on the upcoming challenge pitting her against Perry, the incumbent Repbulican governor, but she has appeared to change course.

This decision has a number of ramifications for the three-term senator.

My own analysis is that among those advantages she may reap with this decision, one is that she could remain relevant on key national issues.  Because of influential positions on the Appropriations and Commerce Committees, Hutchison would have the ability to stand up to Senate Democrats and even the president.  Many Republicans in Texas would be encouraged by a strong stand from their senior senator on issues they care about.

It is not clear at this time whether the Democrats’ majority in the Senate will end up a strength or liability for Hutchison.  Senate Democrats will likely try to force votes on issues Republicans don’t support but where the majority Americans do, hurting some Republicans in purple states.  However, Hutchison’s opposition to many of those bills may actually bolster her bona fides with the Republican base which has a warm relationship with the sitting governor.  We’ll call that factor a draw for now, depending on the issues the Democrats inevitably choose to use for political gain.

Hutchison’s apparent decision to stay in the senate also leaves an enormous strategic decision out of Perry’s hands.  Under Texas law, the governor would have the power to appoint Hutchison’s successor; if Hutchison stepped down before the primary, Perry could leverage the pick for support within the Republican voting bloc.

There are two major pitfalls with remaining a senator.  The first is that the Perry campaign will be able to argue that Hutchison is absent from her service to Texas if she ends up missing important votes; on the other hand, if she spends too much time in Washington, the Perry campaign can charge Hutchison spends too much time there.  If she resigned, she would have plenty of time to travel the state and raise more funds (she already has $8 million, transferred from her federal account, but by many estimates, that’s only the beginning).

The other is that Washington is largely unpopular, with the exception of the president, who won his election by criticizing the behavior of politicians in Washington.  While Hutchison is undoubtedly a full-blooded Texan (born, raised, college-educated in the state that she has now represented in the senate for 14 years), Hutchison is finishing her third term (due to expire in 2012), and has therefore spent a lot of time out of the state.  The Perry campaign has already disparaged her for her ties to Washington, dubbing her “Kay Bailout” after unpopular TARP legislation.   The more time she’s away from Texas, the easier it will be for Perry’s campaign apparatus to link her to D.C.

Clearly this is a very political decision, and Hutchison’s consultants will be judged by the decision they’re making before any blood has been spilled.  Keep coming back for more analysis of this race as it develops.

At the end of each week, The Daily Horse Race will compile the most intriguing storylines in the Texas governor’s race from the week before.  Here’s what people are talking about over the past week (and, because it’s the inaugural week for this, we will include still-pertinent but slightly dated stories):

• Dave McNeely outlines the possibilities regarding Hutchison’s expected departure from the U.S. Senate.  This is obviously critical to Hutchison’s strategy, as her expected opponent in the Republican gubernatorial primary would select her successor should she step down during the campaign.  McNeely also notes Sen. Russ Feingold’s proposed constitutional amendment which would take senate vacancies out of governors’ hands.  You can view this story here.
• From the Trail Blazers Blog at the Dallas Morning News, this story details the Texas Democrats’ eagerness to split the Republicans on the stimulus.  More needs to be said (and I’m sure will be said) about the Democrats’ role in this potentially contentious primary, as this will not be the only issue the Democrats will try taking advantage this race.  Here’s a link to an article we’ve already posted about Perry’s refusal to accept the federal unemployment funds.   You can view the Democrats’ reaction here.
• The list of politicians on Twitter is growing, but Rick Perry has been at it awhile. Many politicians use it extensively on the trail, so keen observers of this race ought to follow him here and here.
• Hutchison recently spoke up for former Dallas mayor Ron Kirk, who President Obama nominated for U.S. Trade Representative. Both Hutchison and her Texas colleague John Cornyn voted for his nomination.  Perry has already attacked Hutchison for being a creature of Washington for too long; she stressed her relationship with the Dallas mayor (the senator lives in Dallas) in her remarks.  You can read more about his confirmation here.

We’re looking forward to providing our readers with the latest on this race–and others.