Like everybody else, Sen. John Cornyn has no idea what his senior colleague in the Senate is going to do. And also like the rest of us, or at least us bloggers, he's willing to speculate wildly about it in public.
Cornyn, who also chairs the Senate Republicans' campaign committee, has pleaded with her not to resign early. After all, if there's a special election to replace Hutchison, Democrats would have a golden opportunity to pick up the seat, with a strong field including Houston Mayor Bill White and ex-Comptroller John Sharp. Cornyn would rather be safe than have to spend millions playing defense.With only 40 Republicans in the Senate and the soap opera in Minnesota almost surely a lost cause, Cornyn doesn't want to risk any more GOP-held spots any sooner than necessary.
"We certainly can't afford to lose that [Hutchison] seat," he said.
But the National Republican Senatorial Committee boss says he's wary of White, who is "running a very serious race" and has raised gobs of campaign cash.
"He's definitely on my radar," Cornyn said.
With all the jockeying already going on in the Senate race to replace Hutchison, when does he think she will resign her seat?
"My guess," he told Texas reporters at his Senate office today, is that Hutchison will resign "this fall sometime."
That would allow Perry to appoint an interim senator and allow a special election to take place in May 2010 instead of this November (which would happen if she resigned this spring or summer).
But Cornyn readily admits that he has no inside info.
"There's only one person who knows," the San Antonio Republican said, "and it's not me."
John Cornyn is just clueless. Next time you use the headline just leave it at that.
There is pressure for her to resign. Whispered about. Rumored about.
One of the potential candidates for her seat of course was told she would. Raised all that money. Wants to spend it.
He should have remembered the one most important thing about Kay Bailout-Wall-Street-But-To-Hell-With-Main-Street Hutchison. She never keeps her promises.
Of course she might remember others don't always as well. One of the rumors is some of her supporters are "requesting" she resign if she wants their continued support. They may just want to be rid of her finally.
Nothing like Texas politics. We no doubt have a mud-slinging contest to look forward to in both the race for mayor of Houston and the race for the Repubilcan candidate for governor of Texas.
And then the big one in 2010. Hutchison or Perry versus Kinky Friedman.
Or if one of the other rumors is true, Hutchison versus Perry versus Kinky Friedman.
As in she may leave the party and run as an Independent.
In which case the next headline can simply be "Cornyn Speechless."
Posted by: Baby Snooks on May 14, 2009 10:27 AM