Skip to content

Kay Bailey Hutchison Stands by Criticism of Rick Perry

Retiring Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison refused today to soften any of the criticisms she leveled at Texas Gov. Rick Perry when she challenged him in last year’s GOP gubernatorial primary.

“I’m not going to backtrack on anything I said,” Hutchison told CNN’s “State of the Union” when asked whether her criticisms still stand against Perry, who is running for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination. “I tried to give Texas a choice. … He was pretty brutal on my record, and I took on his record. And so that’s the way politics is, and it does come back.”

Hutchison lost by more than 20 points in the March 2010 gubernatorial primary.

“I thought we needed a choice in Texas, and I certainly feel the same way about the United States,” she said without offering an endorsement in the presidential race.

Recent Stories

As House members run for Senate, their seats become prime targets

No cameras, please: Some offices in Congress warn visitors not to film

Senate panel wary of states managing National Park sites

Republican gains among Latino voters face 2026 test in California

Capitol Lens | Hearing the sad news

McMahon lays out Education Department ‘final mission’ to House appropriators