Elizabeth Ames Jones is running for U.S. Senate. She is the first Republican to formally announce and, according to the Austin American Statesman, has filed paperwork to run in 2012.
Jones, who had been saying she was open to the Senate prospect, says on her filing that she's running in 2012. That's the year Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's seat will be open if she doesn't resign before then. Hutchison, who's looking into a 2010 run for governor, has said she won't resign any earlier than the end of next year. If she does quit early, and depending on her timing, Gov. Rick Perry would appoint an interim senator and set a special election to election someone to serve out her term.
Former Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams (Republican) and Houston Mayor Bill White (Democrat) are both expected to announce their intentions next week.
Williams has gone as far as telling Dave Montgomery at PoliTex, an announcement is imminent.
The former Texas Secretary of State told PoliTex Monday that he plans to announce an exploratory committee for the U.S. Senate seat occupied by Kay Bailey Hutchison, who is contemplating a race for governor in 2010. Expect the announcement "within the next day or two," he said.
"We're getting ready to go," he said in a telephone interview, "so it's imminent."
The odd part of all this is Kay Bailey Hutchison's move to run for Governor, has created a very crowded field for Senator, but the Governor's race appears to be a Republican only contest right now.
Update: Apparently Roger Williams didn't want to wait until next week. Today Williams announced he has formed an exploratory committee for the U.S. Senate race. The Statesman has the full story here and they also highlight some other names on both sides of the aisle that may enter into the contest.
Those names include, Republicans Sen. Florence Shapiro, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Michael Williams, the chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission.
Democrats who are rumored to be looking at the race include former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk, state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio, state Rep. Richard Pena Raymond, and state Rep. Rafael Anchia. |
