Sen. Hutchison says focus is on governor's race

01/11/2010

By JEFF CARLTON / Associated Press

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison said Monday that her campaign had momentum and that she was "peaking at the right time," as her debate with Gov. Rick Perry loomed.

Touting an internal poll claiming the race was even, Hutchison told dozens of supporters that she would spend "every waking moment" campaigning for governor in the March 2 Republican primary. The senator spent much of December in Washington fighting health care reform legislation.

Hutchison acknowledged she probably would miss some Senate votes as she turned her focus to the campaign. She pledged to return to Washington only if she had to cast a vote on health care or in cases where her vote would make a difference in the outcome.

"The gloves are off," Hutchison said. "I have been stuck doing what I said I would do in Washington. I knew it would be a disadvantage in the campaign, but I did what I had to do and what was right for Texas."

The governor's debate, which includes GOP activist Debra Medina, scheduled for Thursday in Denton.

Hutchison jabbed at Perry, characterizing his efforts on border security as costly posturing, and she promised to unveil her plan Tuesday.

"Governor Perry goes down to the border and he puts up cameras that don't do anything," Hutchison said.

Perry campaign spokesman Mark Miner disputed Hutchison's remarks about the border cameras, saying the program was working. Official reports obtained last summer showed that just 17 of 200 cameras had been installed with a $2 million federal grant received in 2008. The cameras led to just eight drug busts and 11 arrests, far short of the 1,200 arrests they were expected to generate.

"Protecting the border is a federal responsibility that Governor Perry has had to take over because the federal government is falling down on the job," Miner said. "She (Hutchison) has been there for 17 years and has not proposed one policy that will keep our borders safe."

Hutchison said Perry, a two-term incumbent and the longest-serving governor in Texas history, has been on the job too long. His administration's longevity "invites cronyism, it invites pressure and it invites arrogance. And it must stop," she said.

Hutchison said she would try to unite the Republican party in Texas and make it stronger in the state's largest cities, whose voters have favored Democratic candidates in recent years.

The senator said she believes she is the "true conservative" in the race, a title both she and Perry are trying to claim.

"A true conservative would not vote for earmarks, for record deficits and for $700 billion bailouts," Miner said. "This is just another issue where she says one thing in Texas and flies back to Washington and does something else."

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