SAN ANTONIO – By staying in the Senate, Kay Bailey Hutchison gives the GOP a boost nationally but scrambles the political landscape in Texas for those hoping to replace her. 
 
 Had Hutchison resigned, as she repeatedly vowed to do over the past year, it could have put a safe Republican seat in political jeopardy and forced the GOP to divert money here to keep it. 
 
 Instead, Hutchison announced Wednesday that she will stay in Washington through 2012 to serve out her term, saying she wants to help fight the Democratic agenda in Congress. 
 
 "If you sense an audible sigh of relief in the air, it's every single Republican in the U.S. Senate," said Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. 
 
 Though a Republican would have been heavily favored to keep the Texas seat, the GOP might have had to spend money to defend it – money that can now be used elsewhere. 
 
 McConnell and Sen. John Cornyn, who heads the Republicans' Senate campaign committee, joined Hutchison for the announcement. 
 
 Cornyn said having his veteran Senate colleague in place through the fall will help the party fight "against the sort of threats to our way of life" posed by President Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress. 
 
 While Hutchison's about-face was greeted as good news by the national GOP, it put the political prospects of several Texas politicians on ice. 
 
 Some, including former Secretary of State Roger Williams and Republican railroad commissioners Elizabeth Ames Jones and Michael Williams, immediately charged ahead with plans to run in 2012. 
 
 "Now the rules have been written," said Williams, a Republican. "There's a Senate race in 2012, and Roger Williams is running." 
 
 Both Jones and Michael Williams say they will continue their preparations to replace Hutchison. But Republican state Sen. Florence Shapiro of Plano dropped out of the race, saying she wants to focus on her work in Austin. 
 
 Two others frequently mentioned as possible candidates – Republican Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Democratic former Comptroller John Sharp – declined to say whether they might run in two years. 
 
 Still unresolved is whether Hutchison herself might consider running for another term in 2012. 
 
 After brief statements at Wednesday's announcement, Hutchison refused to take questions. Instead, she, Cornyn and McConnell left the room, ignoring questions from reporters. Cornyn did subsequently talk with some journalists, although aides said the senators had pressing obligations elsewhere. Congress is not in session this week. 
 
 One former Hutchison aide said that by holding the announcement in San Antonio, where Cornyn and McConnell were attending a Republican fundraiser, Hutchison was able to avoid questioning from large groups of reporters in Austin and her hometown of Dallas. 
 
 A Hutchison aide later in the day did not clarify whether the senator might run again, saying only that "the issue never came up" during preparations for Wednesday's announcement. 
 
 During the Republican primary race for governor, Hutchison, who is in her third full term, said frequently that she would leave the Senate before her term expires. At one point, she said she would quit once the battle over health care legislation was completed. She even sold her house in the Washington area, living out of a hotel when she returned to the capital for votes. 
 
 On Wednesday, she said she changed her mind because the country needs her to stand against the Democrats' liberal agenda. 
 
 "The stakes are so high," she said. "My experience will be better used fighting this effort of a president and a Congress to do so much that is really taking away the essence of America." 
 
 She cited specifically a growing national debt, the recently enacted health care bill, unemployment and a proposal to curb carbon emissions that Republicans say would hurt business. 
 
 Texas Democratic leaders were harshly critical of Hutchison. 
 
 "We never believed she would leave the Senate, and it's disappointing that she refused to shoot straight with Texas voters," party chairman Boyd Richie said in a written statement. 
 
 Perry – whose campaign toughly criticized Hutchison's record on federal spending during their battle for the GOP gubernatorial nomination – praised Hutchison's move. 
 
 "Her experience will be crucial to reforming the health care disaster and to holding job-killing cap and trade legislation at bay," the governor said in a written statement. He also noted that a special election could have cost the state millions of dollars. 
 
 The hard-hitting GOP primary between Hutchison and Perry exacerbated an already strained relationship between the two, aides said. Had Hutchison resigned, Perry would have appointed a replacement who might have gone into the special election as a favorite. Now, that won't happen. 

 Hutchison to stay in Senate 
 
 posted at 9:30 am on March 31, 2010 by Ed Morrissey 
 
 After Kay Bailey Hutchison announced that she would run for the Republican nomination for governor in Texas, she also promised that she would resign from the Senate after the primaries. Having lost that primary rather badly to popular incumbent Rick Perry — and after taking quite a beating in the race — some wondered whether Hutchison would leave public life altogether. According to National Journal, Hutchison will finish her current term in the Senate: 
 
 Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) will announce today she has decided to serve out the remainder of her term, according to a source familiar with Hutchison’s plans. The move is a reversal of a pledge Hutchison made to step down as she challenged Gov. Rick Perry (R) earlier this year. Hutchison lost an early March primary against Perry by a surprisingly wide margin. Hutchison originally said she would step down sometime last fall, before putting off her resignation thanks to the health care debate. Now that the health care debate is over, House GOPers in TX have urged Hutchison to reconsider in a letter sent to the incumbent last week. 
 
 The move cancels what would have been a rather perilous special election this November. Republicans had a half-dozen serious candidates already campaigning for the spot, while Democrats had the former mayor of Houston, Bill White, who may have been able to win in a crowded field. The special election looked like it might alleviate the Democrats’ expected midterm losses on the national level, and winning a Texas Senate seat would have been quite a bragging coup for the DSCC. With Hutchison’s decision to stay, the GOP has one less worry in November, which allows them to focus on winning seats held by Democrats rather than playing defense. 
 
 It’s good for the Senate GOP caucus as well. While Hutchison’s move to the center got plenty of focus during the gubernatorial campaign, she has been firm on conservative positions in the 111th Congress. Hutchison never gave any indication that she would give an inch towards the kind of health-care industry takeover we saw in ObamaCare. Hutchison has fought against the cap-and-trade bill that will likely get some attention in the waning days of this session. She’s also been pretty good on immigration reform. Hutchison is far more useful in office for the next two years than out, especially if the alternative is White. 
 
 Update: White dropped out of this race to run against Perry, but I think the point still stands — the Democrats could have coalesced around one candidate while Republicans split the vote on the Right. Now they don’t have to worry about it and can go through a normal primary process in 2012. Thanks to R.J. for the reminder. 
 
 Related Posts:
– Kay Bailey Hutchison is staying in the Senate after all. The Texas Republican announced today that she will serve out the remainder of her term through 2013, despite pledges during her failed bid for governor that she would resign early, reports the Dallas Morning News. "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," she said. The decision is good news for Republicans, says Ed Morrissey at Hot Air. Hutchison caught flak for moving toward the center, but she's been "firm on conservative positions." And had she left, Democrat Bill White might have won the special election. "With Hutchison’s decision to stay, the GOP has one less worry in November, which allows them to focus on winning seats held by Democrats rather than playing defense."