As Republican gubernatorial primary closes in, Hutchison faces a Texas-size challenge
By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, February 26, 2010; 12:55 PM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2010/02/26/GA2010022603717.html?sid=ST2010022603874DENTON, TEX. -- Shortly after Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison walked into Ruby's Diner on the Square here Tuesday morning, Bob Andrews greeted her warmly. "Welcome back to Texas," he said. Hutchison recoiled. "I live in Texas," she said.
At it turned out, Andrews was a supporter. He strongly backs Hutchison in her campaign to defeat Gov. Rick Perry in the Texas Republican gubernatorial primary. But his greeting touched a nerve that explains why Hutchison is now a distinct underdog in Tuesday's balloting.
At a time of rising anger toward Washington, Perry has hung Hutchison's service in the capital around her neck. His campaign calls her "Kay Bailout" for her support of the financial industry bailout. He has attacked her for the special earmark projects she has secured for Texas, which he describes as symptomatic of out-of-control spending in Washington.
"He definitely has made it more difficult for me, and I didn't really believe that people would buy that because I've been so effective for Texas," she said aboard her campaign bus. "I've protected Texas. I've brought Texas taxpayer dollars back to Texas very successfully, and I've voted for Texas values. And I didn't think that anyone could turn my success in producing results for Texas into a negative."
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Endorsements are symbolic of the gulf between Perry and Hutchison. She has the support of former president
George H.W. Bush, his wife Barbara Bush, former vice president Richard B. Cheney and former top Bush adviser Karen Hughes. She also has won the endorsements of all the major papers in Texas. Perry has no newspaper endorsements but he has the support of former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, who drew more than 5,000 people when she appeared with him at a rally in Houston on Super Bowl Sunday.