Kay Bailey Hutchison (Getty Images/Joshua Roberts)

After months of running an “exploratory” campaign for governor — and raising oodles of money for that prospective 2010 race — Texas Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison made it official Monday: She is challenging Republican incumbent Rick Perry in the gubernatorial primary next March.

Hutchison also announced Monday, at a news conference in her hometown of Dallas, that she raised $6.7 million for her campaign in the first six months of this year, ending what her campaign said was “the first phase” of her bid for governor. Hutchison earlier had transferred $8 million from her Senate campaign treasury to her account for the governor’s race, which now reports more than $12 million in cash on hand.  

“While phase one of the campaign was designed to ensure we have the resources to deliver Kay’s conservative message to voters across our state, it is now time to begin delivering that message,” wrote Rick Wiley, Hutchison’s campaign manager, in a memorandum.