U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison met with more than 300 supporters at a private strategy session Saturday for her 2010 run for Texas governor against incumbent Rick Perry, a fellow Republican.
Hutchison said the meeting was the first for her statewide campaign organization, which includes members of Congress, local politicians and big-name business people and political donors. At a downtown Austin hotel she introduced the group's leaders as "people who are going to help me in my quest to be governor of Texas."
Among her campaign organizers are prominent attorney Pat Oxford and former Perry supporter John Nau, both of Houston.
Perry, meanwhile, planned to rally his social conservative base Saturday with an appearance at an anti-abortion rally at the Texas Capitol. Perry will be seeking his third full term as governor in 2010. Hutchison has been in the U.S. Senate since 1993.
The race between Perry, a former Texas A&M University yell leader, and Hutchison, a former University of Texas cheerleader, will likely be expensive and intense. Hutchison suggested to news reporters before her strategy meeting that she is preparing for Perry to run a hard-hitting campaign.
"I think that we have seen negative campaigns run by Gov. Perry in the past. Am I concerned? It's not going to dissuade me," she said. "I think that's why we need new leadership. I think people are looking for positive, happy warriors. And I'm a positive happy warrior."
Perry's office did not immediately return a phone call to The Associated Press to respond to her remarks.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Hutchison said she wants to improve Texas' public and higher education and access to health care. She also wants to ensure that toll roads are built only with local approval, or as new lanes if they are constructed along existing highways. She said Texas is fortunate not to have a personal income tax but that this is not a low-tax state when property taxes are taken into account.
Texas is faring better economically than some parts of the country, Hutchison acknowledged.
"But will we be the leading state in 2020? Not if we continue the way we are," she said.
Abortion could be a main issue in the Republican primary. Perry has said he opposes abortion except in cases of rape, incest or when the mother's life is in danger. Hutchison has said she favors some abortion rights, but that she supports existing abortion restrictions and wants to reduce the number of abortions.
Hutchison has said she won't seek re-election to the Senate. And though she plans to step down before her term is up in 2012, she said she hasn't decided when that will be. It will be no earlier than the end of this year, she said, but she could wait until the 2010 election.
"I think the time is right now for transition to new leadership in Texas, and for Texas in the United States Senate," she said.
In December, Hutchison transferred $7.9 million from her federal campaign account into her state fund, giving her an early money lead over Perry. Perry reported having $6.6 million in campaign cash on hand at the end of December.
Just before Hutchison revealed her transfer of money -- and thus signaled her seriousness about running -- Perry said in an interview with The Associated Press that he had doubts about whether she would really run for governor.
Hutchison said Saturday she didn't know why there were doubts that she would join the race.
"I thought the signs were pretty clear," she said.