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Texas Senator Sends Mixed Signals

She’s quitting. She’s not quitting. She might be quitting. No, she wants the governor to be the quitter — and quit thinking about re-election.

If Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison is trying to keep the rival camp in Texas’ gubernatorial primary — and all of Washington — guessing about how long she’ll keep her current job, she’s a success.

Over the course of just a few hours on Wednesday, she sent nothing but mixed signals.

First, she told a Texas radio interviewer that she intends to resign her seat in the Senate.

In Washington a short time later, Hutchison said she might stay in the Senate through next year’s gubernatorial race and really didn’t intend to indicate a change in her anticipated timetable.

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