Hutchison concedes in Texas gov. primary

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison has conceded the Texas gubernatorial primary to Republican Gov. Rick Perry.

Hutchison told supporters in Dallas Tuesday night "we have fought valiantly for our principles, but we did not win."

The senator also is set to announce that she will not pursue a runoff even if Perry does not break the majority threshold to win the nomination outright, according to sources.

Perry, who is seeking a third full term as governor, led Hutchison 52-31 percent in their primary Tuesday, with 23 percent of precincts reporting. He needed 50 percent-plus-one to advance outright to the general election.

He moves on to face Houston Mayor Bill White, who sailed to victory in the Democratic primary and gives his party a well-funded candidate in a general election that the national Democratic Party is already targeting.

Perry was a heavy favorite to take home the most votes Tuesday, with Hutchison’s campaign turning in a disappointing showing done in by her votes for the bailout in Congress and the candidacy of Tea Party activist Debra Medina. But it remained an open question whether he would reach the threshold to avoid a runoff.

Medina took 17 percent of the vote. She had been rising in the polls and threatened to overtake Hutchison until Medina made controversial comments suggesting the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks might have been perpetrated by the U.S. government.

The race began as a clash of titans, with a popular longtime senator seeking the office she has long coveted. She planned to run in 2006, only to step aside for Perry. When the 10-year incumbent Perry announced he would seek an unprecedented third full term in 2010, Hutchison moved to primary him.

She began the race as the frontrunner, and Perry, like many governors, struggled under the weight of some budget problems in his state. In the end, though, Perry was given credit for running a superior campaign that successfully tapped into discontent with the federal government.

Hutchison, meanwhile, engaged in a public soap opera over whether or not she would resign her Senate seat. She initially said she would resign it before the primary, but after dithering, she said she would resign it after the primary.

Now, it’s not clear that she will resign the seat at all. Indeed, GOP leaders would rather she serve out her term, which ends in 2012, in order to keep the seat in GOP hands and avoid a difficult special election format that could help Democrats. By resigning, she would also hand Perry the power to appoint a temporary successor.

Hutchison acknowledged toward the end of her campaign that her status as a senator and the drama in Washington worked against her.

Perry appeared vulnerable after winning the 2006 general election with just 39 percent of the vote. A darling of conservatives, he is seen as the more beatable general election candidate, and Democrats have cited his ascent in the primary as the main reason White switched from running for Hutchison’s seat to seeking the governor’s mansion.

In a memo released before polls closed Tuesday, the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) said the race is a top target thanks to Perry’s vulnerabilities.

“During his long, brutal primary, Perry has sprinted to the far right – going so far as to suggest that Texas secede from the United States,” DGA executive director Nathan Daschle said. “No incumbent governor in the country has experienced a primary as long or expensive as Perry.”

-- This article was updated at 10:50 p.m.

---