Kay Bailey Hutchison faced a barrage of questions in Washington this afternoon, now that she's sending stronger signals she will run for Texas guvnah in 2010.

Watch the raw video of Hutchison's latest comments

It all started with Evan Smith's post last week about his interview with her, in which she left open the possibility of resigning the senate by 2009 (her term doesn't end until 2012).

"I walked out of that interview almost certain that she was gonna run, and I walked out from it more certain than ever before that she might not serve her term out," Smith told me today.

But KBH insists she didn't really say anything that she hasn't said before, and that we're all overanalyzing this. What? Political nerds? Overanalyze???

Some of her latest comments, from her press gaggle in DC:
"I would not be interested in seeking re-election in 2012, so there's nothing new there. The governor's race is an option. It's been speculated on before, and I hold it out as an option."

What she says about telling Evan Smith she'd consider an early departure:
Maybe I'm too forthcoming in answering questions. I'm not too good at not saying what seems to be obvious to me, and maybe it's not obvious to everyone... I try to answer the questions.

Regarding questions about stepping down by 2009:
I've made no decision so there's really no reason to talk about an upside or downside. So much has to come together.

Her message to all of us:
There's just too much talk about it right now, because it's so far away. And I think anyone in politics who talks about something three years out is probably not very experienced in politics.

Ah, there's the rub. She is probably a VERY GOOD politician, so she's talking about it but not talking about it. It's a non-announcement announcement. Political consultant Chuck McDonald -- and sources on background -- say it was probably not an accident. She needed to get it out there to shore up support from her big GOP donors.

Posted by Elise Hu at 4:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Houston Mayor Bill White introduced Lance Armstrong, who then introduced State Rep. Patrick Rose, at Rose's Sunday night fundraiser. But what was the Houston Mayor doing at a rally in Central Texas?

Well, White says he and Rose have known each other since the representative's halycon days of youth, which was around age 18. But White's the Mayor of HOUSTON, not, say, Buda, which is actually in Rose's district, and he came all the way out to Hays County to support the young rep?

It probably goes a bit deeper. Sources in the Texas Democratic Party say they are looking toward 2010, when White may seek the party's nomination for Governor. It would make sense, then, for the Mayor to up his statewide profile by appearing at more events in more places across Texas. (And according to The Houston Chronicle, his presentation was "crisp".)

KVUE: Elise Hu White greets baby Victoria and State Rep. Mark Strama outside the annual Rose BBQ.

He's even cuddling up to babies, seen in this photo with State Rep. Mark Strama (D-Austin) and Strama's seven-month-old daughter, Victoria.

And lest we forget who else was spotted at the fundraiser -- Glen Maxey, former State Rep who's now running for Travis County Tax Assessor-Collector, State Rep. Eddie Lucio III, D-Brownsville, and State Rep. Rick Noriega, (D-Houston), sporting a nice cowboy hat. Noriega is running for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.

Posted by Elise Hu at 10:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)