Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, Texas' senior statewide officeholder, said Thursday that she will not seek another term in the U.S. Senate, a post she has held for more than 17 years, because "now is the time for a new person to come in." 
 
 "I have known since 2006 that I would not seek another term," the former television reporter, bank executive and small-business owner said in the interview after making her announcement. "I just wanted to announce it in my own way in my own time." 
 
 The trailblazing lawmaker and Dallas Republican, who in 1993 became the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Texas, said she is proud of her record, but "this is the time to go." 
 
 Hutchison, 67, had promised to resign from the Senate when she announced her 2010 primary challenge to Texas Gov. Rick Perry, but she reversed course after Texas Sen. John Cornyn and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., pleaded with her to serve out the remaining two years of her third term. She said she decided to make her announcement early in 2011 because Cornyn had cemented his position as a national political figure, and potential candidates for the Senate seat deserved plenty of time to plan their campaigns. 
 
 "I wanted to find the right time to tell people that I'm not going to run," she said. "It's just time for people to start making their plans." 
 
 Cornyn, a member of the GOP leadership as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, immediately paid tribute to his retiring colleague, saying she "represents the very best of the state of Texas." 
 
 "Kay came to the Senate to make a difference, to work to find solutions to the complex problems of modern society, and to attain real and lasting change," he said. "She has succeeded in brilliant fashion." 
 
 Colleagues offer praise 
 
 Democratic colleagues put aside their ideological differences to praise Hutchison's work across party lines on issues of importance to Texas, from military bases to NASA funding. 
 
 "She has been incredibly valuable," said Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, D-San Antonio. "We obviously have strong disagreements on major (policy) areas, but when it comes to the local interest, I have been fond and appreciative of the relationship." 
 
 Despite the bipartisan accolades in Washington, Democratic officials in Austin took the opportunity to tweak Hutchison, who has previously announced plans to leave the Senate at least twice in the past two years. 
 
 "Kay Bailey Hutchison has changed her mind about retirement so many times, she could be known as the Brett Favre of the Senate," said Kristen Gray, spokeswoman for the Texas Democratic Party. "Assuming this time she's serious, it is good news for Texas families, who Sen. Hutchison has failed to adequately represent. Just in recent weeks, her vote against the DREAM Act and vote to maintain (the military's) 'don't ask, don't tell' (policy) shows her unwillingness to look beyond partisan politics to support smart policy." 
 
 Scramble expected 
 
 Hutchison, a fiscal conservative and military hawk with a moderate streak on some social issues, becomes the first incumbent senator up for election in 2012 to make a retirement announcement. Her decision will set off a wild scramble for the Senate seat she first won in a 1993 special election against interim Sen. Bob Krueger, D-New Braunfels. 
 
 She predicted that the 2012 race will be "a humdinger," just like her wide-open 1993 campaign but said she was confident Republicans would hold the Texas Senate seat. 
 
 "I do believe we have a deep bench," she said. 
 
 The retiring senator said she was not going to endorse any candidate "at this point" but added that she "reserved the right" to take sides in the 2012 primary. 
 
 Hutchison's Texas roots run deep. She is the great-great-granddaughter of Charles S. Taylor, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. Taylor was a business partner of Thomas Jefferson Rusk, the first Texan to hold the Senate seat currently represented by Hutchison. 
 
 Hutchison's 25 years in elective office include previous stints as a state representative from Houston and Texas state treasurer. After leaving public office, Hutchison said she planned to return to take a nongovernment job in Dallas — though she didn't flatly rule out seeking elective office in the future. 
 
 "I'm real excited about going into the private sector," she said. 
 
 The Texas Republican spent Thursday afternoon informing her Texas congressional colleagues, the Republican leadership in Washington and key allies in Texas. 
 
 "Senators come and go. Leaders never die," said Alberto P. Cardenas Jr., an attorney with Vinson & Elkins and former general counsel to Hutchison. "Since her first day representing Texans in the U.S. Senate, Kay Bailey Hutchison has served, led, delivered, inspired and earned our respect." 
 
 'A trusted adviser' 
 
 Rep. Pete Olson, R-Sugar Land, praised the senator's commitment to NASA, declaring, "No one loves Texas more than Kay Bailey Hutchison." 
 
 McConnell, a close Senate ally, called Hutchison "a trusted adviser and friend, a senator who always serves Texas first. Fortunately, she's not leaving soon. While I'm confident she'll continue to be a powerful advocate for her state and nation over the next two years, the Senate will miss her strength and energy when she leaves." 
 
 In an open letter to Texans, Hutchison pledged to continue carrying out her duties for the next two years "with the same vigor that I have employed during my Senate service." 
 
 Gary Martin of the Washington bureau contributed to this report. 
 
 richard.dunham@chron.com 

 Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Republican, will not seek reelection in 2012, the Dallas Morning News reports. 
 
 "I am announcing today that I will not be a candidate for re-election in 2012," wrote the three-term senator to supporters on Thursday. "That should give the people of Texas ample time to consider who my successor will be." 
 
 The Fort-Worth Star Telegram reported last month that the GOP lawmaker would have a Tea Party target on her back if she decided to run. 
 
 "She personifies everything that the Tea Party is fighting," said one member of a local Texas Tea Party steering committee. "She is a Republican, but when you check her votes on many issues, they are not ones that conservatives are happy with." 
 
 As for who might run to secure Hutchison's seat, according to the Telegram:
– Kay Bailey Hutchison won’t be running for reelection in 2012, she announced today in an open letter saying she wanted to live “full-time in Texas with my family.” The three-term Republican said that announcing the move early “should give the people of Texas ample time to consider who my successor will be.” A large field of candidates will likely vie for the job, in what the Houston Chronicle believes will be a “wild scramble.” Hutchison had originally promised to resign when she ran for governor last year, but then changed her mind. “I intended to leave this office long before now,” she said today, “but I was persuaded to continue in order to avoid disadvantage to our state.” She also may have faced a primary challenge, the Huffington Post notes; one Tea Party activist recently remarked that she "personifies everything that the Tea Party is fighting. ... When you check her votes on many issues, they are not ones that conservatives are happy with."