KBH Is Staying Put

Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson had pledged to resign her Senate seat in her bid for Rick Perry’s governor’s mansion. She lost the GOP gubernatorial primary last month to Perry and today announced that, in fact, she will not resign — as first reported by Reid Wilson over at Hotline. She intends to serve out her term which expires in 2012, putting on hold the aspirations of at least half a dozen Republicans and Democrats looking to replace her. The Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza has some pretty good ideas about why she changed her mind. So, Hutchinson officially becomes the first 2012 Senate retirement in a year that otherwise looks tough for Dems who are defending 24 of the 33 seats up that cycle.