Washington (CNN) – A GOP official is dismissing a report that John Cornyn, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, is pressuring his fellow Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison to drop her gubernatorial primary challenge to Gov. Rick Perry.
A Wall Street Journal column reported Thursday that Cornyn is "trying to persuade Ms. Hutchison to drop out of the governor's race [to] run for re-election to the senate" - a move that would put an end to the hard-hitting GOP primary battle in Texas and keep Hutchison's seat in Republican hands.
Brian Walsh, a spokesman for the NRSC, called the report "absolutely false."
"Senator Cornyn's focus is on winning back Republican Senate seats in 2010 and restoring checks and balances to Washington," Walsh said in an e-mail to CNN.
An aide to Hutchison had no comment on the claim.
After first declaring last year that she would step down from her Senate seat to focus on the governor's race, Hutchison changed course in November and said she would keep her seat until the Republican gubernatorial nomination is decided in March.
If she decides to remain in the Senate, she would not face re-election until 2012.
From CNN Politics
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I hope Hutchison runs for the governorship. If she does, I will vote for her in the Republican primary. That would be the first time I've ever voted in a Republican Primary. I figure if Hutchison wins, Texas will get a better governor and a better senator. No one who replaces Hutchison could be any worse than she is, and even Hutchison would make a better Governor than Perry.
Of course in November I will vote for the Democratic nominees for both offices, but they will both lose. This is Texas.
In case the rest of the nation hasn't noticed Texans have had it with Republicans. Hutchison will not be governor or senator again and Perry will not be governor. Look no further than the recent elections in Houston, the states largest city and nation's 4th largest city where we elected a gay mayor and Democrats took 8 out of 10 city council seats and 30 out of 32 district judge seats.
If they are saying they are not pressuring her, you can believe that is exactly what is going on. I am not a republican, but I hope she stands her ground and not allow the rightwing nuts force her out of the race. It is a sad situation when you are affiliated with a party who does not allow you to be yourself and dictate to you how to walk, talk and think!
Who cares whether it is Hutchinson, or Perry.......Either way, TEXAS loses!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It was so cold in Texas yesterday that Governor Rick Perry was seen with his hands in his OWN pockets!
Perry is a tea-bagger poster boy who never lets truth or rational thought get in his way of blurtting out mindless tea-bagger talking points. Hutchinson is a more thoughtful and moderate (not by much) candidate who actually thinks before she speaks. So of course the radical right-wingers want her to go, which would be good for the Dems. This promises be a fun election year.
Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert must be grinning ear to ear! So will I while watching them continue to help the politicians present their true self to us. Bring it on ..... yee-hah!
I'm surprised that anyone in the Republican Party is saying anything until after a consultation with Rush.
Republicans are fighting with each other nationwide, si I would think this report is false, and that she is being forced out of the race. She is rather normal so that won't work for the teabagger wackos.
The problem Senator Hutchison is not right wing enough in today's GOP. Unless you continue scream fear all the times stating everything is President Obama fault intoday's GOP you can not win the GOP primary.
both are idiots...ok
Of course, she is, they need the funds that she will eat up in the primary for the general when they will have to battle White. With RSCC having the losing funds on hand in 20 years, they need to save every dime!
If any one can break the republiklan stranglehold on Texas it will be Bill White.
The best thing that could happen to TX, is for both of these candidates to be beaten by a rational person in the real world.
John Cronyn is a liar of the highest degree in my opinion. He would absolutely try to keep Kay Bailey Hutchinson in the senate and the know nothing Perry in the state house as governor.
And by "absolutely false" they of course mean "completely true."
I hope that she stays in the race for governor. I'd like to see some serious amount of mud to fly. I know that Perry and Hutchinson could really make a good show. This is my kind of reality programming!
Cornyn may or may not be pressuring Hutchison to run for re-election to the Senate. He would be doing the right thing for his party if he is because she would probably hold her seat for the GOP.
Palin defenders take note. Hutchison is a woman and a conservative and the media doesn't bash her. That's because she can speak intelligently about issues rather than just looking good and spewing babble.
Keep your seat Kay us Texan's are happy with Rick dont try to fix something thats not broke .
Kay should run for PRESIDENT, not waste her considerable talents on a Gov race. She has more credibility than anyone in Congress and certainly makes NObama pale in comparison, to say nothing of Palin.
Hutchison is an opportunist. She felt perjury was a high crime when Clinton lied, but it was merely a technicality when Scooter Libby was on trial. She'll make a fine governor of TX! She'll be in great historical company with Bush and Perry, both opportunistic nitwits themselves.
It doesn't matter, Bill White will be the next governor of Texas.
Hutchison takes orders from Dick Cheney and Rick Perry is a disgrace when he announced Texas should leave the Union not caring about our Texas military serving in the Middle East.
Has Pelosi been pressure to drop the Charlie Rangel investigation. How come CNN never says anything about it.
Strategies of a personal, self-serving nature to keep power rather than extreme concern for the welfare of jobless, homeless, hungry, mentally impoverished, sick citizens is all I'd ever need to know for my decision to stay an Independent thinker. We must work to rid ourselves of this election process that wastes valuable money that could really be taking care of real needs NOW rather than advancing the careers of the present folks who more highly value a dog eat dog cycle of endless competition – the fatal flaw of Capitalism. To those who can see, this is a most disgusting waste of human, plantetary, animal resources that we can never change until this corruption ends and another ethical process replaces it. Peace
Governor plastic hair and Senator Cornhead know she will win.All three are big moneybaggers and take their orders from Exxon Mobil and the gunrunners"the military industrial complex" that run Texas.We are voting for Kinky,he may be a little crazy but at least he isnt owned by any special interest groups.
She has no more to offer....Retire already !!!!!!!