If Kay Bailey Hutchison resigns her U.S. Senate seat to run for governor here in 2010, there’ll be no shortage of pols lining up to replace her. Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who spoke today to the Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce, said he hasn’t decided yet whether to join them. But, with state Sen. Florence Shapiro (R-Plano) and Congresswoman Kay Granger (R-Fort Worth) apparently jockeying for the pole position, Dewhurst (above) said there’s no reason to consider Hutchison’s a “woman’s seat”–as some observers have suggested. “I don’t think that Texans think in terms of ‘I want a man in this seat,’ or ‘I want a woman in this seat’, or an ‘Anglo or an Hispanic or an African-American in this seat,’ ” Dewhurst said. “I think most people make the decisions based on who they think is the best candidate to represent them, and who they like.” Any advice, then, for keeping the seat in GOP hands? “I think that with a really, really good–probably statewide–elected official running for it, the Republicans will hold on to it,” he said. “It also won’t hurt that McCain won Texas by 12 points.” Hmmm; last I checked, neither Shapiro nor Granger held statewide office …
