State Government

It’s the Labor Day break, a traditional starting point for political adventurers (as opposed to explorers) who will face the judgment of primary voters in six months.

Texas Republicans are waiting to see what Kay will do. Everybody’s been talking about it for months and months.

After exploratory dry runs in 2002 and 2006, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison formally announced her bid for governor of Texas before a sparse crowd in La Marque, starting a 19-stop, week-long tour of the state with a series of broadsides at the incumbent and a promise to return the state to Republican glory.

Kay Bailey Hutchison’s political two-step gets under way next week with an 18-city tour — starting in her old high school in La Marque — to announce that she’ll seek the Republican nomination for governor against an incumbent who’s held the job longer than anyone in state history.

If U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison really does step down in October or November, as she said recently on WBAP-AM, the election to replace her could land anytime between December and May. It’d be in May unless Gov. Rick Perry — the guy Hutchison hopes to unseat — declares an emergency and sets an earlier date.

It’s midsummer. Hot. Time for vacations. But first: The campaign finance reports are in, and you can start to see where (some of) the money is going.

Texas Republicans are starting a critical election cycle with a gaggle of competing political action committees, a muddle that could hamper efforts to hang onto the slimmest possible majority in the Texas House.

For a Texas governor — especially for one embarking on a reelection bid — that headline perfectly describes a successful special session. Voters didn’t get hurt, weren’t aroused, and have no real reason to give it another thought.