Kay Bailey Hutchison
Encyclopedia
Kathryn Ann Bailey Hutchison, known as Kay Bailey Hutchison (born July 22, 1943), is the senior United States Senator
from Texas
.
She is a member of the Republican Party
. In 2001, she was named one of the thirty most powerful women in America by Ladies Home Journal. The first woman to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate, Hutchison also became the first Texas U.S. senator to receive more than four million votes in a single election.
Hutchison is the most senior female Republican senator, and fifth most senior female senator, having assumed office in June 1993 behind Senators Barbara Mikulski
(D-MD, 1987), Dianne Feinstein
(D-CA, 1992), Barbara Boxer
(D-CA, Jan. 1993), and Patty Murray
(D-WA, Jan. 1993).
to the former Kathryn Ella Sharp and Allan Abner Bailey, Jr., an insurance agent. She has two brothers, Allan and Frank. Hutchison grew up in La Marque, Texas
.
She married her first husband, John Pierce Parks, a medical student, on April 8, 1967; they divorce
d in 1969. She married her second husband, Ray Hutchison
, in Dallas on March 16, 1978. They have two adopted children: Kathryn Bailey and Houston Taylor, both adopted in 2001. She also has two stepdaughters, Brenda and Julie, from her husband's previous marriage. Ray Hutchison is a former member of the Texas Legislature, a former state Republican chairman, and ran an unsuccessful bid for the Texas governorship, having lost the Republican nomination in 1978 to Bill Clements
, a senior partner with the law firm of Vinson & Elkins, of Dallas.
Hutchison and her family have their primary residence in Dallas, where her children attend school. She has a second house in Virginia
, where she lives when the Senate is in session. In August 2009 she put her Virginia house up for sale, and her campaign stated, "She's no longer going to be in the United States Senate. She's coming home to Texas. That's why it's for sale." She has also purchased a house in Nacogdoches
, Texas. She is a supporter of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation
where she is an honorary board member.
She received her bachelor of arts
degree from the University of Texas at Austin
in 1962, where she was a cheerleader and a sister of Pi Beta Phi
Fraternity
. She received her J.D.
from the University of Texas School of Law
in 1967. Following her graduation from law school, she was the legal and political correspondent for KPRC-TV
in Houston. Hired by Ray Miller
, host of the long-running The Eyes of Texas
anthology series, Hutchison was the first female onscreen newswoman in Texas.
from a district in Houston. She served until 1976. She was vice-chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board
from 1976 to 1978. She was a candidate for election to the United States House of Representatives
in 1982 for the Dallas-based 3rd District, but was defeated in the primary by Steve Bartlett
. She temporarily left politics and became a bank executive and businesswoman.
Kay Bailey Hutchison was a bank executive of a failed bank in Texas and met and married her second husband Ray Hutchison who was the chairman of the Texas Republican Party in 1976 but left in 1977 to pursue his gubernatorial campaign. In 1978, Ray Hutchison lost the nomination to Bill Clements, by a lopsided vote of 115,345 (72.8 percent) to 38,268 (24.2 percent). Kay met Ray when they were both Texas legislators and Kay's interest in politics grew exponentially. Ray is currently a senior attorney at the largest and most powerful law firm and lobbying organization in Houston, TX. (Vinson & Elkins).
in 1990 and served until June 1993 when she ran against Senator Bob Krueger for the right to complete the last two years of Lloyd Bentsen
's term. Bentsen had resigned in January 1993 to become Secretary of the Treasury
in the Clinton
administration. Krueger had been appointed by Texas Governor Ann Richards
to fill the seat until a replacement was elected.
A field of 24 candidates sought to fill Bentsen's unexpired term, in the May 1993 special election. The top two vote-getters were Hutchison (593,338, or 29 percent) and Krueger (593,239, also 29 percent). Two conservative Republican congressmen, Joe Barton
of Dallas
(284,135 or 13.9 percent) and Jack Fields
of Houston (277,560, or 13.6 percent) split pro-life
voters, but even their combined totals, 561,693, would have placed neither in the runoff. A fifth candidate, Democrat Richard W. Fisher
, son-in-law of Republican former U.S. Representative James M. Collins
, polled 165,564 votes (8.1 percent); the remaining candidates had about 6 percent combined. Running far behind the pack was the Houston conservative political activist and former crusading journalist Clymer Wright
, father of his city's 1991 term-limits initiative. Lou Zaeske
, an engineer from Bryan
, who in 1988 had spearheaded the English-only movement
in Texas, polled barely 2,000 votes.
During the campaign Krueger charged that Hutchison was a "country club Republican
" and insensitive to the feelings of minorities. In January, the Houston Chronicle reported that both Hutchison and Fields had promised to serve a maximum of two six-year terms in the Senate as part of her support for term limit legislation for members of Congress. In April, the Dallas Morning News reported that Hutchison had repeated her pledge to serve only two terms in the U.S. Senate, if elected, and had also said term limits ought to cover all senators, including Senator Phil Gramm
(Republican), who had been elected in 1984 and re-elected in 1990. (He would stay in the Senate until 2002.) The term-limits legislation never passed, and Hutchison has said that she would not leave the Senate in the absence of such legislation, because doing so would unilaterally hurt Texas at the expense of other states in the seniority-driven institution.
After the initial voting, most of the Barton and Fields voters switched to Hutchison, who won the runoff, 1,188,716 (67.3 percent) to 576,538 (32.7 percent). Lower turnout in the runoff resulted in a decrease in Krueger's vote total, by 17,000. Hutchison became the first woman to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate.
Following Hutchison's election in 1993, Texas has had two sitting Republican U.S. senators.
authorities, led by Democratic district attorney Ronnie Earle
, raided Hutchison's offices at the State Treasury. Earle failed to obtain a search warrant in conducting that raid. Subsequently, after two other grand jury indictments were thrown out, Hutchison was indicted a 3rd time by a Texas grand jury
in September 1993 for official misconduct and records tampering. Hutchison stated that she was the innocent victim of a politically motivated prosecutor. Earle had attempted to get Democratic Governor Ann Richards
to appoint Earle to the US Senate seat, to which Hutchison was ultimately elected, but he has denied that his legal actions against Hutchison were politically motivated.
, the son-in-law of the late Republican Congressman James M. Collins
, who had also run in the special election the year before.
). This was the only time since the early 1900s that Webb County had supported a Republican candidate for any office on a partisan ballot. More than four million Texans voted for Hutchison that year — still the record highest number of actual votes ever cast in Texas for a non-presidential candidate (George W. Bush received 4,526,917 votes in Texas in the 2004 election).
in 2006, challenging current Governor Rick Perry
in the Republican
primary
. However, on June 17, 2005, Hutchison announced that she would seek reelection to the Senate instead, reneging on an earlier promise to a two-term limit. Many political analysts speculated that she did not believe she could defeat Perry in the GOP primary because of his popularity among Christian conservatives, while her Senate seat was unlikely to face a serious threat.
Hutchison's Democratic opponent in the November 2006 general election
was former Houston
attorney and mediator Barbara Ann Radnofsky
(born July 8, 1956), who had not previously run for public office. Radnofsky received 44 percent of the vote in the primary and won a runoff election against Gene Kelly with 60 percent of the vote. Kelly had been the unsuccessful Democratic nominee against Hutchison in 2000. Libertarian
Scott Lanier Jameson (born July 1, 1966), a real estate consultant from Plano
, also ran for the seat.
Radnofsky faced an uphill battle in a state that has not elected a Democrat statewide since 1994, as George W. Bush
's landslide reelection as governor in 1998 had helped carry Republicans into all the other statewide offices. In the August 2006 Rasmussen poll, Hutchison led her opponent by 30 percentage points — 61 to 31. The Survey USA Poll, which is not a head-to-head matchup, but only lists approval ratings of incumbents, found Hutchison with a 61 percent approval rating. The Zogby poll, in contrast, showed a closer result, but still showed Hutchison with a 17.3 percent lead — the highest of any incumbent Republican Zogby tracks. The authors stated "...Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who got 65 percent of the vote in 2000, is a safe bet to win a third term."
On election night 2006, Hutchison won re-election to another term, winning 2,661,789 votes (61.7%). Radnofsky won 1,555,202 votes (36.04%). Radnofsky only won in base Democratic areas, carrying only border counties with strong Hispanic majorities, such as El Paso and Webb
(Laredo
) and in Travis County
(Austin
). Hutchison won everything else, having won majorities in 236 of the state's 254 counties.
candidate for Governor of Texas
and positioned herself as a moderate alternative to Governor Rick Perry
. Perry criticized Hutchison for her pro-choice
position and received endorsements from social conservatives in the state. Although Hutchison led Perry in polls taken in early 2009 and was perceived by many to be the front-runner in the race, by the fall her lead had evaporated and she consistently trailed the incumbent in the final months before the primary. Hutchison accumulated a list of high profile endorsements that included former U.S. President George H. W. Bush
, former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker
, former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney
, legendary baseball player Nolan Ryan, and several current and former congressmen and Cabinet secretaries. However, Hutchison lost the primary to Perry, 31 to 53 percent, with the remainder of the vote going to Debra Medina
, a dark horse
candidate with ties to the Tea Party movement
.
.
In June 2000, Hutchison and her Senate colleagues coauthored Nine and Counting: The Women of the Senate. In 2004, her book, American Heroines: The Spirited Women Who Shaped Our Country, was published.
From 2001 to 2007, Hutchison served as Chairwoman of the Senate Republican Conference (caucus), making her the fifth-ranking Republican in the Senate behind Majority Leader Bill Frist
, Majority Whip Mitch McConnell
and conference chairman Rick Santorum
, and Policy Chairman Jon Kyl
. In 2007, Hutchison succeeded Jon Kyl
as the Policy Chair for Senate Republicans
, the fourth ranking leadership position in the Republican caucus behind Minority Leader McConnell, Minority Whip, and conference chairman Kyl.
The National Journal
ranked Hutchison as follows in its 2004 rankings, which are based on various key votes relating to economic policy, social policy, and foreign policy: "Economic: 26% Liberal, 73% Conservative; Social: 38% Liberal, 60% Conservative; Foreign: 0% Liberal, 67% Conservative. Although a loyal Conservative Republican
she has been known to cross over to the other side on a few issues. She is more likely to do this than either Phil Gramm
or his successor John Cornyn
." A poll that was released on June 19, 2007, shows that Hutchison has an approval rating of 58%, with 34% disapproving.
The National Journal's opinion is disputed by many Texas Republicans and Tea Party members, however. Konni Burton, a member of the Northeast Tarrant Tea Party steering committee, said "She personifies everything that the Tea Party is fighting. She is a Republican, but when you check her votes on many issues, they are not ones that conservatives are happy with." "On fiscal issues, she is more loyal to her friends and special interests than to the people of Texas," according to Adrian Murray, president of the grassroots 912 Project Fort Worth.
Hutchison broke ranks with her Republican colleagues and opposed an attempt to stall the Democrats' health-care bill in the Senate.
in a letter dated 9 December 2010.
and considers herself pro-choice
. She has, however, frequently voted for restricting abortion. Her average score from the NRLC between the years of 1997 and 2010 is 93%, with her highest score being 100% and lowest being 75%. NARAL Pro-Choice Texas executive director Sara Cleveland once said, "by our definition, Sen. Hutchison's voting record does not indicate that she is pro-choice." She also believes that the decision of the United States Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade
was appropriate and should not be overturned, but is opposed to the Freedom of Choice Act because it would restrict the right of states to impose restrictions on abortion. In the past years NARAL has given her ratings of 0%, 7%, 20%, and 0%, indicating that her voting record mostly favored enacting proposed abortion restrictions.
She has served on the Advisory Board of The Wish List
(Women in the Senate and House) a Political Action Committee, which contributes to pro-choice female Republican candidates for Congress. She is no longer on the board and the PAC did not endorse her in 2006.
While in the Texas House of Representatives (1973 to 1977), Hutchison worked, along with Sarah Weddington
(the attorney who won Roe v. Wade), to protect rape
victims from having their names published.
, while drawing 157 cosponsors from the House. This bill would have protected gun rights of DC citizens by dismantling the handgun bans the city had in place for thirty years. DC's law states that one may not possess a rifle
or shotgun
unless it is in disassembled and inoperative form, and may not possess pistols in any form. The law was recently struck down in a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, District of Columbia v. Heller
.
in public schools. In 2001, she worked with Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) to write provisions into the No Child Left Behind Act
(specifically sections 5131.a.23 and 5131c) authorizing single-sex education in public schools. Section 5131c required the Department of Education to write new regulations facilitating single-sex classrooms; this provision led to the publication of new regulations by the Department of Education in 2006 which do in fact facilitate single-sex education in public schools. She is a supporter of the U.S. Public Service Academy.
, and has supported legislation promoting drilling in the refuge in 2002 and 2003. In 2005 she also voted against including oil and gas smokestacks in the Environmental Protection Agency
's mercury
regulations. In 1999, she voted to remove funding for renewable and solar energy, although she has more recently stated she supports the development of alternative energy sources. According to the League of Conservation Voters
environmental scorecard, Hutchison received a rating of zero — the lowest possible score — in the 104th Congress. However, they have since upgraded her to a grade of 18% in the 110th Congress
as a way to bring Federal government money to her constituents. Hutchison, through her assignment on the Senate's appropriations committee, has been influential in directing Federal funds to projects in her state. In FY 2008 and FY 2009, Hutchison sponsored or co-sponsored 281 earmarks totaling almost $500 million. In an interview with the Austin American-Statesman
, Hutchison expressed her pride in the practice as a way to, "garner Texans' fair share of their tax dollars."
Hutchison's earmarks and appropriations have been criticized as pork barrel projects or pet projects
by the non-partisan government watchdog
group Citizens Against Government Waste
. CAGW recognized Hutchison's efforts by naming her "Porker of the Month" in October 2009, based on her extensive legislative history, in addition to her request for 149 such pork projects worth $1.6 billion in FY 2010.
Hutchison continues to support earmarks despite a moratorium called for by the Republican Party in both houses of Congress. She is a strong supporter of the Space Launch System, also known as the Senate Launch System, the single largest earmark in the Federal budget and possibly the single large earmark in US history. The SLS earmark has been opposed by fiscal conservative groups, including the Tea Party. , as well as space-exploration advocacy groups. Congressman Tom McClintock (R-CA) has expressed "serious concerns with NASA's attempt to avoid holding a full and open competition to acquire the SLS." Rep. McClintock "stringly believe[s] that such a de facto sole source award would be a violation of the 1984 Competition in Contracting Act." Rep. McClintock has asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate the SLS earmark.
Ironically, the SLS earmark primarily benefits the Marshall Space Flight Center, which is not located in Hutchison's home state. To fund SLS development, Hutchison supports cutting funds for NASA's Commercial Crew and Cargo Program, which would rely on private companies such as Space Exploration Technologies and Blue Origin (both of which have significant operations in Texas). Critics contend that building SLS would increase the cost of access to space and result in long-term cutbacks in NASA's human spaceflight program, based in Houston, Texas.
Immediately after the first successful test flight of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, Hutchison issued a statement dismissing the value of SpaceX, which has approximately 10% of its workforce in Texas and is one of the fastest growing employers in the state. "This first successful test flight of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket is a belated sign that efforts to develop modest commercial space cargo capabilities are showing some promising signs," Hutchison said. "While this test flight was important, the program to demonstrate commercial cargo and crew transport capabilities, which I support, was intended to enhance not replace NASA's own proven abilities to deliver critical cargo and humans to low Earth orbit. Make no mistake, even this modest success is more than a year behind schedule, and the project deadlines of other private space companies continue to slip as well. This test does not change the fact that commercial space programs are not ready to close the gap in human spaceflight if the space shuttle is retired this year with no proven replacement capability and the Constellation program is simultaneously canceled as the president proposes."
Citizens Against Government Waste
has consistently opposed the SLS earmark as well. According to CAGW, "The private sector should be relied upon to fulfill the U.S. mission in space. If the U.S. has a requirement for a heavy-lift launch vehicle to carry beyond low-Earth orbit, there should be a new, full and open competition to determine the best path forward."
Other Republicans have criticized the SLS earmark, which has even become an issue in the Presidential primary. At a town meeting hosted by the Dallas Tea Party, Presidential Candidate and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich
criticized politicians supporting the Space Launch System, "I think it is disgraceful the way getting into space has been turned into a political pork-barrel. It’s an abuse of the taxpayer and an abuse of America’s future.”
., which authorized the creation of the Troubled Assets Relief Program
.
for the Republican Party
nomination. State Republican Chairman Cathie Adams
later called upon Hutchison to clarify when she would vacate the Senate so that other Republican candidates can make preparation for their races.
On November 13, 2009, Hutchison announced that she would not resign from the Senate seat until after the March 2, 2010 primary. On March 31, 2010, she announced her intention to serve out her third term.
On January 13, 2011, after some discussion about whether she would change her mind, Hutchison announced she would not seek re-election in 2012
.
On June 22, 2011, Hutchison told Chris Matthews
on Hardball with Chris Matthews
that she had pondered running for president, but said she could not run in the 2012 election
due to having two 10-year-old children.
|+ Texas Senator (Class I): Results 1988–2006
!|Year
!
!|Democrat
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
!|Republican
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
!|3rd Party
!|Party
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
!|4th Party
!|Party
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
|-
|1988
|
| |
| align="right" |3,149,806
| |59%
|
| |Beau Boulter
| align="right" |2,129,228
| |40%
|
| |Jeff Daiell
| |Libertarian
| align="right" |43,989
| align="right" |1%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|1993
|
| |Bob Krueger
| align="right" |576,538
| |33%
|
| |
| align="right" |1,188,716
| |67%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|1994
|
| |Richard W. Fisher
| align="right" |1,639,615
| |38%
|
| |Kay Bailey Hutchison
| align="right" |2,604,218
| |61%
|
| |Pierre Blondeau
| |Libertarian
| align="right" |36,107
| align="right" |1%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|2000
|
| |Gene Kelly
| align="right" |2,025,024
| |32%
|
| |Kay Bailey Hutchison
| align="right" |4,078,954
| |65%
|
| |Douglas Sandage
| |Green
| align="right" |91,329
| align="right" |1%
|
| |Mary Ruwart
| |Libertarian
| align="right" |72,657
| align="right" |1%
|
|-
|2006
|
| |Barbara Ann Radnofsky
| align="right" |1,555,202
| |36%
|
| |Kay Bailey Hutchison
| align="right" |2,661,789
| |62%
|
| |Scott Jameson
| |Libertarian
| align="right" |97,672
| align="right" |2%
|
|
|
|
|
|
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
She is a member of the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. In 2001, she was named one of the thirty most powerful women in America by Ladies Home Journal. The first woman to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate, Hutchison also became the first Texas U.S. senator to receive more than four million votes in a single election.
Hutchison is the most senior female Republican senator, and fifth most senior female senator, having assumed office in June 1993 behind Senators Barbara Mikulski
Barbara Mikulski
Barbara Ann Mikulski is the senior United States Senator from Maryland and a member of the Democratic Party. Mikulski, a former U.S. Representative, is the longest-serving female senator in U.S...
(D-MD, 1987), Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein is the senior U.S. Senator from California. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served in the Senate since 1992. She also served as 38th Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988....
(D-CA, 1992), Barbara Boxer
Barbara Boxer
Barbara Levy Boxer is the junior United States Senator from California . A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives ....
(D-CA, Jan. 1993), and Patty Murray
Patty Murray
Patricia Lynn "Patty" Murray is the senior United States Senator from Washington and a member of the Democratic Party. Murray was first elected to the Senate in 1992, becoming Washington's first female senator...
(D-WA, Jan. 1993).
Early life
Hutchison was born in GalvestonGalveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
to the former Kathryn Ella Sharp and Allan Abner Bailey, Jr., an insurance agent. She has two brothers, Allan and Frank. Hutchison grew up in La Marque, Texas
La Marque, Texas
La Marque is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the city population was 14,509...
.
She married her first husband, John Pierce Parks, a medical student, on April 8, 1967; they divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
d in 1969. She married her second husband, Ray Hutchison
Ray Hutchison
Elton Ray Hutchison, known as Ray Hutchison , is a prominent Dallas, Texas, attorney, who served in the Texas House of Representatives in the 1970s and is married to the state's senior Republican senator, Kay Bailey Hutchison. In 1957, Hutchison graduated from Southern Methodist University in...
, in Dallas on March 16, 1978. They have two adopted children: Kathryn Bailey and Houston Taylor, both adopted in 2001. She also has two stepdaughters, Brenda and Julie, from her husband's previous marriage. Ray Hutchison is a former member of the Texas Legislature, a former state Republican chairman, and ran an unsuccessful bid for the Texas governorship, having lost the Republican nomination in 1978 to Bill Clements
Bill Clements
William Perry "Bill" Clements, Jr. was the 42nd and 44th Governor of Texas, serving from 1979 to 1983 and 1987 to 1991. Clements was the first Republican to have served as governor of the U.S. state of Texas since Reconstruction...
, a senior partner with the law firm of Vinson & Elkins, of Dallas.
Hutchison and her family have their primary residence in Dallas, where her children attend school. She has a second house in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, where she lives when the Senate is in session. In August 2009 she put her Virginia house up for sale, and her campaign stated, "She's no longer going to be in the United States Senate. She's coming home to Texas. That's why it's for sale." She has also purchased a house in Nacogdoches
Nacogdoches, Texas
Nacogdoches is a city in Nacogdoches County, Texas, in the United States. The 2010 census recorded the city's population to be 32,996. It is the county seat of Nacogdoches County and is situated in East Texas. Nacogdoches is a sister city of Natchitoches, Louisiana.Nacogdoches is the home of...
, Texas. She is a supporter of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation
Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation
The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation is a charitable organization dedicated to multiple myeloma, an incurable but treatable blood cancer, which afflicts over fifty thousand Americans alone...
where she is an honorary board member.
She received her bachelor of arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree from the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
in 1962, where she was a cheerleader and a sister of Pi Beta Phi
Pi Beta Phi
Pi Beta Phi is an international fraternity for women founded as I.C. Sorosis on April 28, 1867, at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois. Its headquarters are located in Town and Country, Missouri, and there are 134 active chapters and over 330 alumnae organizations across the United States and...
Fraternity
Fraternity
A fraternity is a brotherhood, though the term usually connotes a distinct or formal organization. An organization referred to as a fraternity may be a:*Secret society*Chivalric order*Benefit society*Friendly society*Social club*Trade union...
. She received her J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
from the University of Texas School of Law
University of Texas School of Law
The University of Texas School of Law, also known as UT Law, is an ABA-certified American law school located on the University of Texas at Austin campus. The law school has been in operation since the founding of the University in 1883. It was one of only two schools at the University when it was...
in 1967. Following her graduation from law school, she was the legal and political correspondent for KPRC-TV
KPRC-TV
KPRC-TV is the NBC affiliated television station based in Houston, Texas, and serving the Greater Houston television market. It has studios located in the Sharpstown district on the Southwest portion of the city, and has a transmitter site in unincorporated Fort Bend County near Missouri City...
in Houston. Hired by Ray Miller
Ray Miller (Texas journalist)
Ray Elvin Miller was the creator and host of The Eyes of Texas , a television anthology series, syndicated through KPRC-TV, the NBC outlet in Houston. A native of Fort Worth, Miller began his career in radio there in 1938 and thereafter relocated to Houston...
, host of the long-running The Eyes of Texas
The Eyes of Texas (TV series)
The Eyes of Texas is a long-running regional television series which aired original episodes from 1969—1999. The program focused on unique people, events and places throughout the state of Texas. It was produced and syndicated by KPRC-TV & Stonefilms , both in Houston...
anthology series, Hutchison was the first female onscreen newswoman in Texas.
Early career
In 1972, Hutchison was elected to the Texas House of RepresentativesTexas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
from a district in Houston. She served until 1976. She was vice-chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board
National Transportation Safety Board
The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incidents, certain types of highway crashes, ship and marine...
from 1976 to 1978. She was a candidate for election to the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
in 1982 for the Dallas-based 3rd District, but was defeated in the primary by Steve Bartlett
Steve Bartlett
Harry Steven "Steve" Bartlett is the President and CEO of the Financial Services Roundtable, an advocacy group lobbying the U.S. Congress on financial services legislation. He is a former U.S...
. She temporarily left politics and became a bank executive and businesswoman.
Kay Bailey Hutchison was a bank executive of a failed bank in Texas and met and married her second husband Ray Hutchison who was the chairman of the Texas Republican Party in 1976 but left in 1977 to pursue his gubernatorial campaign. In 1978, Ray Hutchison lost the nomination to Bill Clements, by a lopsided vote of 115,345 (72.8 percent) to 38,268 (24.2 percent). Kay met Ray when they were both Texas legislators and Kay's interest in politics grew exponentially. Ray is currently a senior attorney at the largest and most powerful law firm and lobbying organization in Houston, TX. (Vinson & Elkins).
Personal wealth
Hutchison’s husband, Ray, a prominent Dallas bond attorney, makes slightly less than a half million dollars a year in combined salary and deferred compensation, records provided by her campaign show. A big stake in ExxonMobil, valued at between $250,000 and $500,000, along with other stock holdings and equity investments, have also helped provide the family yearly dividend income of about $60,000 a year since 2001, records show. The Hutchison family reported assets of between $2.8 million and $6.7 million in 2008, not including homes used for residential purposes, Senate records show. The Senate records give ranges of asset value, making an exact calculation impossible.Committees
- Committee on AppropriationsUnited States Senate Committee on AppropriationsThe United States Senate Committee on Appropriations is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over all discretionary spending legislation in the Senate....
- Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (Ranking MemberRanking memberIn United States politics, a ranking member is the second-most senior member of a congressional or state legislative committee from the majority party. Another usage refers to the most senior member of a congressional or state legislative committee from the minority party. This second usage, often...
) - Subcommittee on DefenseUnited States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on DefenseThe U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense is one of twelve subcommittees of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations. Military defense spending is the largest individual component of federal discretionary spending, making the Defense Subcommittee one of the more powerful...
- Subcommittee on Energy and Water DevelopmentUnited States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water DevelopmentThe U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development is one of twelve subcommittees of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations.-Jurisdiction:...
- Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans' Affairs, and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (Ranking Member
- Committee on Commerce, Science, and TransportationUnited States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and TransportationThe United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is a standing committee of the United States Senate in charge of all senate matters related to the following subjects:* Coast Guard* Coastal zone management* Communications...
(Ranking Member)- As Ranking Member of the full committee, Sen. Hutchison may serve as an ex officio member of all subcommittees.
- Committee on Rules and AdministrationUnited States Senate Committee on Rules and AdministrationThe Senate Committee on Rules and Administration is responsible for the rules of the United States Senate, with administration of congressional buildings, and with credentials and qualifications of members of the Senate, including responsibility for dealing with contested elections.The committee...
Caucus memberships
- Congressional Oil and Gas Caucus
- Congressional Internet Caucus
- International Conservation CaucusUnited States Congressional International Conservation CaucusThe U.S. Congressional International Conservation Caucus is a bipartisan congressional organization that was founded in September 2003 with the conviction that “the United States of America has the opportunity, the obligation and the interests to advance the conservation of natural resources for...
- Senate Auto Caucus
- Sportsmen's Caucus
1993
Hutchison was elected Texas State TreasurerTexas State Treasurer
Texas State Treasurer was a political office in the U.S. state of Texas, established in the Constitution of 1876. It was abolished in 1996.-History:...
in 1990 and served until June 1993 when she ran against Senator Bob Krueger for the right to complete the last two years of Lloyd Bentsen
Lloyd Bentsen
Lloyd Millard Bentsen, Jr. was a four-term United States senator from Texas and the Democratic Party nominee for Vice President in 1988 on the Michael Dukakis ticket. He also served in the House of Representatives from 1949 to 1955. In his later political life, he was Chairman of the Senate...
's term. Bentsen had resigned in January 1993 to become Secretary of the Treasury
United States Secretary of the Treasury
The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also with some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United...
in the Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
administration. Krueger had been appointed by Texas Governor Ann Richards
Ann Richards
Dorothy Ann Willis Richards was an American politician from Texas. She first came to national attention as the state treasurer of Texas, when she delivered the keynote address at the 1988 Democratic National Convention. Richards served as the 45th Governor of Texas from 1991 to 1995 and was...
to fill the seat until a replacement was elected.
A field of 24 candidates sought to fill Bentsen's unexpired term, in the May 1993 special election. The top two vote-getters were Hutchison (593,338, or 29 percent) and Krueger (593,239, also 29 percent). Two conservative Republican congressmen, Joe Barton
Joe Barton
Joseph Linus "Joe" Barton is a Republican politician, representing in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1985, and a member of the Tea Party Caucus...
of Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
(284,135 or 13.9 percent) and Jack Fields
Jack Fields
Jack Milton Fields, Jr. , is a Texas businessman and a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from a Houston-based district....
of Houston (277,560, or 13.6 percent) split pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
voters, but even their combined totals, 561,693, would have placed neither in the runoff. A fifth candidate, Democrat Richard W. Fisher
Richard W. Fisher
Richard W. Fisher is currently the President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, having assumed that post in April, 2005.-Career:...
, son-in-law of Republican former U.S. Representative James M. Collins
James M. Collins
James Mitchell Collins, often known as Jim Collins , was a Republican who represented the Third Congressional District of Texas from 1968-1983. The district was based at the time about Irving in Dallas County....
, polled 165,564 votes (8.1 percent); the remaining candidates had about 6 percent combined. Running far behind the pack was the Houston conservative political activist and former crusading journalist Clymer Wright
Clymer Wright
Clymer Lewis Wright. Jr. , was a Texas conservative political activist and a crusading journalist later credited with bringing term limits to Houston municipal government and encouraging Ronald W...
, father of his city's 1991 term-limits initiative. Lou Zaeske
Lou Zaeske
Louis W. "Lou" Zaeske, Jr. , was a mechanical engineer and a political activist in Bryan, Texas. In 1988, he founded the interest group, the American Ethnic Coalition, which lobbied for English as the official language of the United States.-Early years:Zaeske was born at Randolph Air Force Base,...
, an engineer from Bryan
Bryan, Texas
Bryan is a city in Brazos County, Texas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 76,201. It is the county seat of Brazos County and is located in the heart of the Brazos Valley . It shares its border with the city of College Station, which lies to its south...
, who in 1988 had spearheaded the English-only movement
English-only movement
English-only movement, also known as Official English movement, refers to a political movement for the use only of the English language in official government operations through the establishing of English as the only official language in the United States...
in Texas, polled barely 2,000 votes.
During the campaign Krueger charged that Hutchison was a "country club Republican
Country club Republican
"Country club Republican" is an expression employed, usually pejoratively, to describe certain members of the United States Republican Party. Some of the characteristics attributed to country club Republicans are: Higher than average income or wealth, lack of sympathy with lower income citizens,...
" and insensitive to the feelings of minorities. In January, the Houston Chronicle reported that both Hutchison and Fields had promised to serve a maximum of two six-year terms in the Senate as part of her support for term limit legislation for members of Congress. In April, the Dallas Morning News reported that Hutchison had repeated her pledge to serve only two terms in the U.S. Senate, if elected, and had also said term limits ought to cover all senators, including Senator Phil Gramm
Phil Gramm
William Philip "Phil" Gramm is an American economist and politician, who has served as a Democratic Congressman , a Republican Congressman and a Republican Senator from Texas...
(Republican), who had been elected in 1984 and re-elected in 1990. (He would stay in the Senate until 2002.) The term-limits legislation never passed, and Hutchison has said that she would not leave the Senate in the absence of such legislation, because doing so would unilaterally hurt Texas at the expense of other states in the seniority-driven institution.
After the initial voting, most of the Barton and Fields voters switched to Hutchison, who won the runoff, 1,188,716 (67.3 percent) to 576,538 (32.7 percent). Lower turnout in the runoff resulted in a decrease in Krueger's vote total, by 17,000. Hutchison became the first woman to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate.
Following Hutchison's election in 1993, Texas has had two sitting Republican U.S. senators.
1993 indictments for misconduct as Texas Treasurer
On June 10, 1993, shortly after the special election victory, Travis CountyTravis County, Texas
As of 2009, the U.S. census estimates there were 1,026,158 people, 320,766 households, and 183,798 families residing in the county. The population density was 821 people per square mile . There were 335,881 housing units at an average density of 340 per square mile...
authorities, led by Democratic district attorney Ronnie Earle
Ronnie Earle
Ronald Dale "Ronnie" Earle was, until January 2009, the District Attorney for Travis County, Texas. He became nationally known for filing charges against House majority leader Tom DeLay in September 2005 for conspiring to violate Texas' election law and/or to launder money...
, raided Hutchison's offices at the State Treasury. Earle failed to obtain a search warrant in conducting that raid. Subsequently, after two other grand jury indictments were thrown out, Hutchison was indicted a 3rd time by a Texas grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
in September 1993 for official misconduct and records tampering. Hutchison stated that she was the innocent victim of a politically motivated prosecutor. Earle had attempted to get Democratic Governor Ann Richards
Ann Richards
Dorothy Ann Willis Richards was an American politician from Texas. She first came to national attention as the state treasurer of Texas, when she delivered the keynote address at the 1988 Democratic National Convention. Richards served as the 45th Governor of Texas from 1991 to 1995 and was...
to appoint Earle to the US Senate seat, to which Hutchison was ultimately elected, but he has denied that his legal actions against Hutchison were politically motivated.
1994 acquittal
The case against Hutchison was heard before State District Judge John Onion in February 1994. Pre-trail motions included a Motion to Quash evidence Earle obtained without a warrant when raiding the Treasurer's office. During pre-trial proceedings, the judge announced that he would make no rulings on the admissibility of evidence prior to the trial. That blocked Earle's options as to the admissibility of the evidence. Following Onion's ruling, Earle declined to proceed with his case. Onion swore in a jury and directed the jury to acquit Hutchison, since Earle chose not to present evidence. The acquittal barred any future prosecution of Hutchison.1994 election
In 1994, the election for her first full term, Hutchison received 2,604,281 votes (60.8 percent) to 1,639,615 votes (38.3 percent) cast for Democrat Richard W. FisherRichard W. Fisher
Richard W. Fisher is currently the President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, having assumed that post in April, 2005.-Career:...
, the son-in-law of the late Republican Congressman James M. Collins
James M. Collins
James Mitchell Collins, often known as Jim Collins , was a Republican who represented the Third Congressional District of Texas from 1968-1983. The district was based at the time about Irving in Dallas County....
, who had also run in the special election the year before.
2000
In 2000 she defeated Democrat Gene Kelly, with 4,082,091 (65 percent) to 2,030,315 (32.2 percent). She carried 237 of the 254 counties, including one of the most Democratic counties, Webb County (LaredoLaredo, Texas
Laredo is the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, located on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 236,091 making it the 3rd largest on the United States-Mexican border,...
). This was the only time since the early 1900s that Webb County had supported a Republican candidate for any office on a partisan ballot. More than four million Texans voted for Hutchison that year — still the record highest number of actual votes ever cast in Texas for a non-presidential candidate (George W. Bush received 4,526,917 votes in Texas in the 2004 election).
2006
Speculation began in 2004 that Hutchison would run for Governor of TexasGovernor of Texas
The governor of Texas is the head of the executive branch of Texas's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Texas Legislature, and to convene the legislature...
in 2006, challenging current Governor Rick Perry
Rick Perry
James Richard "Rick" Perry is the 47th and current Governor of Texas. A Republican, Perry was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998 and assumed the governorship in December 2000 when then-governor George W. Bush resigned to become President of the United States. Perry was elected to full...
in the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
primary
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
. However, on June 17, 2005, Hutchison announced that she would seek reelection to the Senate instead, reneging on an earlier promise to a two-term limit. Many political analysts speculated that she did not believe she could defeat Perry in the GOP primary because of his popularity among Christian conservatives, while her Senate seat was unlikely to face a serious threat.
Hutchison's Democratic opponent in the November 2006 general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
was former Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
attorney and mediator Barbara Ann Radnofsky
Barbara Ann Radnofsky
Barbara Ann Radnofsky is a Democratic politician from the U.S. state of Texas. She is the first woman to have won the Democratic nomination for a U.S. Senate seat in Texas.-Early life and career:...
(born July 8, 1956), who had not previously run for public office. Radnofsky received 44 percent of the vote in the primary and won a runoff election against Gene Kelly with 60 percent of the vote. Kelly had been the unsuccessful Democratic nominee against Hutchison in 2000. Libertarian
Libertarian Party (United States)
The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
Scott Lanier Jameson (born July 1, 1966), a real estate consultant from Plano
Plano, Texas
Plano is a city in the state of Texas, located mostly within Collin County. The city's population was 259,841 at the 2010 census, making it the ninth-largest city in Texas and the 71st most populous city in the United States. Plano is located within the metropolitan area commonly referred to as...
, also ran for the seat.
Radnofsky faced an uphill battle in a state that has not elected a Democrat statewide since 1994, as George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
's landslide reelection as governor in 1998 had helped carry Republicans into all the other statewide offices. In the August 2006 Rasmussen poll, Hutchison led her opponent by 30 percentage points — 61 to 31. The Survey USA Poll, which is not a head-to-head matchup, but only lists approval ratings of incumbents, found Hutchison with a 61 percent approval rating. The Zogby poll, in contrast, showed a closer result, but still showed Hutchison with a 17.3 percent lead — the highest of any incumbent Republican Zogby tracks. The authors stated "...Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who got 65 percent of the vote in 2000, is a safe bet to win a third term."
On election night 2006, Hutchison won re-election to another term, winning 2,661,789 votes (61.7%). Radnofsky won 1,555,202 votes (36.04%). Radnofsky only won in base Democratic areas, carrying only border counties with strong Hispanic majorities, such as El Paso and Webb
Webb County, Texas
Webb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. The official 2010 population for the county is 250,304. In 2000, its population was 193,117, and in 2006 its population had been estimated to have reached to 231,470. Its county seat is Laredo...
(Laredo
Laredo, Texas
Laredo is the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, located on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 236,091 making it the 3rd largest on the United States-Mexican border,...
) and in Travis County
Travis County, Texas
As of 2009, the U.S. census estimates there were 1,026,158 people, 320,766 households, and 183,798 families residing in the county. The population density was 821 people per square mile . There were 335,881 housing units at an average density of 340 per square mile...
(Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
). Hutchison won everything else, having won majorities in 236 of the state's 254 counties.
2010 gubernatorial election
On August 17, 2009, Senator Hutchison formally announced that she was a RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
candidate for Governor of Texas
Governor of Texas
The governor of Texas is the head of the executive branch of Texas's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Texas Legislature, and to convene the legislature...
and positioned herself as a moderate alternative to Governor Rick Perry
Rick Perry
James Richard "Rick" Perry is the 47th and current Governor of Texas. A Republican, Perry was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998 and assumed the governorship in December 2000 when then-governor George W. Bush resigned to become President of the United States. Perry was elected to full...
. Perry criticized Hutchison for her pro-choice
Pro-choice
Support for the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-choice movement, a sociopolitical movement supporting the ethical view that a woman should have the legal right to elective abortion, meaning the right to terminate her pregnancy....
position and received endorsements from social conservatives in the state. Although Hutchison led Perry in polls taken in early 2009 and was perceived by many to be the front-runner in the race, by the fall her lead had evaporated and she consistently trailed the incumbent in the final months before the primary. Hutchison accumulated a list of high profile endorsements that included former U.S. President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
, former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker
James Baker
James Addison Baker, III is an American attorney, politician and political advisor.Baker served as the Chief of Staff in President Ronald Reagan's first administration and in the final year of the administration of President George H. W. Bush...
, former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
, legendary baseball player Nolan Ryan, and several current and former congressmen and Cabinet secretaries. However, Hutchison lost the primary to Perry, 31 to 53 percent, with the remainder of the vote going to Debra Medina
Debra Medina
Debra Medina was a candidate for the Republican nomination in the 2010 Texas gubernatorial election. She participated in the January 14 televised debate with incumbent Governor Rick Perry and challenger U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison...
, a dark horse
Dark horse
Dark horse is a term used to describe a little-known person or thing that emerges to prominence, especially in a competition of some sort.-Origin:The term began as horse racing parlance...
candidate with ties to the Tea Party movement
Tea Party movement
The Tea Party movement is an American populist political movement that is generally recognized as conservative and libertarian, and has sponsored protests and supported political candidates since 2009...
.
Political views
Hutchison serves on the following Senate committees: Appropriations; Commerce, Science and Transportation; Rules and Administration; Veterans' Affairs. During her time in the Senate, Hutchison has been a strong supporter of NASANASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
.
In June 2000, Hutchison and her Senate colleagues coauthored Nine and Counting: The Women of the Senate. In 2004, her book, American Heroines: The Spirited Women Who Shaped Our Country, was published.
From 2001 to 2007, Hutchison served as Chairwoman of the Senate Republican Conference (caucus), making her the fifth-ranking Republican in the Senate behind Majority Leader Bill Frist
Bill Frist
William Harrison "Bill" Frist, Sr. is an American physician, businessman, and politician. He began his career as an heir and major stockholder to the for-profit hospital chain of Hospital Corporation of America. Frist later served two terms as a Republican United States Senator representing...
, Majority Whip Mitch McConnell
Mitch McConnell
Addison Mitchell "Mitch" McConnell, Jr. is the senior United States Senator from Kentucky and the Republican Minority Leader.- Early life, education, and military service :...
and conference chairman Rick Santorum
Rick Santorum
Richard John "Rick" Santorum is a lawyer and a former United States Senator from the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Santorum was the chairman of the Senate Republican Conference -making him the third-ranking Senate Republican from 2001 until his leave in 2007. Santorum is considered both a social...
, and Policy Chairman Jon Kyl
Jon Kyl
Jon Llewellyn Kyl is the junior U.S. Senator from Arizona and the Senate Minority Whip, the second-highest position in the Republican Senate leadership. In 2010 he was recognized by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world for his persuasive role in the Senate.The son...
. In 2007, Hutchison succeeded Jon Kyl
Jon Kyl
Jon Llewellyn Kyl is the junior U.S. Senator from Arizona and the Senate Minority Whip, the second-highest position in the Republican Senate leadership. In 2010 he was recognized by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world for his persuasive role in the Senate.The son...
as the Policy Chair for Senate Republicans
Republican Policy Committee Chairman of the United States Senate
Since 1947, the Republican members of the United States Senate have elected a policy committee chairman, who is the fourth-ranking Republican, behind the Republican Leader, Republican Whip, and Republican Conference Chairman....
, the fourth ranking leadership position in the Republican caucus behind Minority Leader McConnell, Minority Whip, and conference chairman Kyl.
The National Journal
National Journal
National Journal is a nonpartisan American weekly magazine that reports on the current political environment and emerging political and policy trends. National Journal was first published in 1969. Times Mirror owned the magazine from 1986 to 1997, when it was purchased by David G. Bradley...
ranked Hutchison as follows in its 2004 rankings, which are based on various key votes relating to economic policy, social policy, and foreign policy: "Economic: 26% Liberal, 73% Conservative; Social: 38% Liberal, 60% Conservative; Foreign: 0% Liberal, 67% Conservative. Although a loyal Conservative Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
she has been known to cross over to the other side on a few issues. She is more likely to do this than either Phil Gramm
Phil Gramm
William Philip "Phil" Gramm is an American economist and politician, who has served as a Democratic Congressman , a Republican Congressman and a Republican Senator from Texas...
or his successor John Cornyn
John Cornyn
John Cornyn, III is the junior United States Senator for Texas, serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party. He was elected Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee for the 111th U.S. Congress....
." A poll that was released on June 19, 2007, shows that Hutchison has an approval rating of 58%, with 34% disapproving.
The National Journal's opinion is disputed by many Texas Republicans and Tea Party members, however. Konni Burton, a member of the Northeast Tarrant Tea Party steering committee, said "She personifies everything that the Tea Party is fighting. She is a Republican, but when you check her votes on many issues, they are not ones that conservatives are happy with." "On fiscal issues, she is more loyal to her friends and special interests than to the people of Texas," according to Adrian Murray, president of the grassroots 912 Project Fort Worth.
Hutchison broke ranks with her Republican colleagues and opposed an attempt to stall the Democrats' health-care bill in the Senate.
DREAM Act
Kay Bailey Hutchison told some Republicans in a letter that she will not be in support of the DREAM ActDREAM Act
The DREAM Act is an American legislative proposal first introduced in the Senate on August 1, 2001 and most recently reintroduced there on May 11, 2011....
in a letter dated 9 December 2010.
Abortion
Hutchison supports the legality of abortionAbortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
and considers herself pro-choice
Pro-choice
Support for the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-choice movement, a sociopolitical movement supporting the ethical view that a woman should have the legal right to elective abortion, meaning the right to terminate her pregnancy....
. She has, however, frequently voted for restricting abortion. Her average score from the NRLC between the years of 1997 and 2010 is 93%, with her highest score being 100% and lowest being 75%. NARAL Pro-Choice Texas executive director Sara Cleveland once said, "by our definition, Sen. Hutchison's voting record does not indicate that she is pro-choice." She also believes that the decision of the United States Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade, , was a controversial landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of abortion. The Court decided that a right to privacy under the due process clause in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution extends to a woman's decision to have an abortion,...
was appropriate and should not be overturned, but is opposed to the Freedom of Choice Act because it would restrict the right of states to impose restrictions on abortion. In the past years NARAL has given her ratings of 0%, 7%, 20%, and 0%, indicating that her voting record mostly favored enacting proposed abortion restrictions.
She has served on the Advisory Board of The Wish List
The Wish List (political organization)
The Wish List is a political action committee devoted to electing pro-choice Republican women to the House of Representatives and Senate. The Wish List was founded in 1992. The acronym "WISH" stands for Women In the Senate and House. It can be considered a counterpart to another organization:...
(Women in the Senate and House) a Political Action Committee, which contributes to pro-choice female Republican candidates for Congress. She is no longer on the board and the PAC did not endorse her in 2006.
While in the Texas House of Representatives (1973 to 1977), Hutchison worked, along with Sarah Weddington
Sarah Weddington
Sarah Ragle Weddington is an American attorney and lecturer from Texas who gained worldwide fame when she and Linda Coffee represented "Jane Roe" in the landmark Roe v. Wade case in the United States Supreme Court.-Family and education:She is the daughter of Lena Catherine and Rev...
(the attorney who won Roe v. Wade), to protect rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
victims from having their names published.
DC Personal Protection Act
Hutchison proposed the "District of Columbia Personal Protection Act," which drew 31 cosponsors in the United States SenateUnited States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, while drawing 157 cosponsors from the House. This bill would have protected gun rights of DC citizens by dismantling the handgun bans the city had in place for thirty years. DC's law states that one may not possess a rifle
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
or shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
unless it is in disassembled and inoperative form, and may not possess pistols in any form. The law was recently struck down in a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, District of Columbia v. Heller
District of Columbia v. Heller
District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 , was a landmark case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution protects an individual's right to possess a firearm for traditionally lawful purposes in federal enclaves, such as...
.
Education
Hutchison is a strong supporter of single-sex educationSingle-sex education
Single-sex education, also known as single-gender education, is the practice of conducting education where male and female students attend separate classes or in separate buildings or schools. The practice was predominant before the mid-twentieth century, particularly in secondary education and...
in public schools. In 2001, she worked with Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) to write provisions into the No Child Left Behind Act
No Child Left Behind Act
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is a United States Act of Congress concerning the education of children in public schools.NCLB was originally proposed by the administration of George W. Bush immediately after he took office...
(specifically sections 5131.a.23 and 5131c) authorizing single-sex education in public schools. Section 5131c required the Department of Education to write new regulations facilitating single-sex classrooms; this provision led to the publication of new regulations by the Department of Education in 2006 which do in fact facilitate single-sex education in public schools. She is a supporter of the U.S. Public Service Academy.
Environmental record
In 2006, Hutchison received more campaign contributions from members of large oil and gas corporations than any other member of Congress. In 2005, Hutchison voted against prohibiting oil leasing in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife RefugeArctic National Wildlife Refuge
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a national wildlife refuge in northeastern Alaska, United States. It consists of in the Alaska North Slope region. It is the largest National Wildlife Refuge in the country, slightly larger than the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge...
, and has supported legislation promoting drilling in the refuge in 2002 and 2003. In 2005 she also voted against including oil and gas smokestacks in the Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
's mercury
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
regulations. In 1999, she voted to remove funding for renewable and solar energy, although she has more recently stated she supports the development of alternative energy sources. According to the League of Conservation Voters
League of Conservation Voters
The League of Conservation Voters is a political advocacy organization founded in 1969 by American environmentalist David Brower in the early years of the environmental movement. LCV's mission is to "advocate for sound environmental policies and to elect pro-environmental candidates who will adopt...
environmental scorecard, Hutchison received a rating of zero — the lowest possible score — in the 104th Congress. However, they have since upgraded her to a grade of 18% in the 110th Congress
Term limits
Hutchison has proposed limiting Texas governors to two four-year terms. She promised not to serve more than two terms as U.S. Senator, but then changed her mind and ran for a third term. She has made many statements concerning whether she would continue in office which were subsequently refuted by herself when she decided to remain in power as U.S. Senator.Earmarks and appropriations
Hutchison supports the practice of earmarkingEarmark (politics)
In United States politics, an earmark is a legislative provision that directs approved funds to be spent on specific projects, or that directs specific exemptions from taxes or mandated fees...
as a way to bring Federal government money to her constituents. Hutchison, through her assignment on the Senate's appropriations committee, has been influential in directing Federal funds to projects in her state. In FY 2008 and FY 2009, Hutchison sponsored or co-sponsored 281 earmarks totaling almost $500 million. In an interview with the Austin American-Statesman
Austin American-Statesman
The Austin American-Statesman is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of Texas. It is an award-winning publication owned by Cox Enterprises. The Newspaper places focus on issues affecting Austin and the Central Texas region....
, Hutchison expressed her pride in the practice as a way to, "garner Texans' fair share of their tax dollars."
Hutchison's earmarks and appropriations have been criticized as pork barrel projects or pet projects
Pork barrel
Pork barrel is a derogatory term referring to appropriation of government spending for localized projects secured solely or primarily to bring money to a representative's district...
by the non-partisan government watchdog
Watchdog journalism
Watchdog journalism aims to hold accountable public personalities and institutions, whose functions impact social and political life. The term "lapdog journalism", for journalism biased in favour of personalities and institutions, is sometimes used as a conceptual opposite to watchdog...
group Citizens Against Government Waste
Citizens Against Government Waste
Citizens Against Government Waste is a 501 non-profit organization in the United States. It functions as a think-tank, 'government watchdog', and advocacy group for fiscally conservative causes...
. CAGW recognized Hutchison's efforts by naming her "Porker of the Month" in October 2009, based on her extensive legislative history, in addition to her request for 149 such pork projects worth $1.6 billion in FY 2010.
Hutchison continues to support earmarks despite a moratorium called for by the Republican Party in both houses of Congress. She is a strong supporter of the Space Launch System, also known as the Senate Launch System, the single largest earmark in the Federal budget and possibly the single large earmark in US history. The SLS earmark has been opposed by fiscal conservative groups, including the Tea Party. , as well as space-exploration advocacy groups. Congressman Tom McClintock (R-CA) has expressed "serious concerns with NASA's attempt to avoid holding a full and open competition to acquire the SLS." Rep. McClintock "stringly believe[s] that such a de facto sole source award would be a violation of the 1984 Competition in Contracting Act." Rep. McClintock has asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate the SLS earmark.
Ironically, the SLS earmark primarily benefits the Marshall Space Flight Center, which is not located in Hutchison's home state. To fund SLS development, Hutchison supports cutting funds for NASA's Commercial Crew and Cargo Program, which would rely on private companies such as Space Exploration Technologies and Blue Origin (both of which have significant operations in Texas). Critics contend that building SLS would increase the cost of access to space and result in long-term cutbacks in NASA's human spaceflight program, based in Houston, Texas.
Immediately after the first successful test flight of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, Hutchison issued a statement dismissing the value of SpaceX, which has approximately 10% of its workforce in Texas and is one of the fastest growing employers in the state. "This first successful test flight of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket is a belated sign that efforts to develop modest commercial space cargo capabilities are showing some promising signs," Hutchison said. "While this test flight was important, the program to demonstrate commercial cargo and crew transport capabilities, which I support, was intended to enhance not replace NASA's own proven abilities to deliver critical cargo and humans to low Earth orbit. Make no mistake, even this modest success is more than a year behind schedule, and the project deadlines of other private space companies continue to slip as well. This test does not change the fact that commercial space programs are not ready to close the gap in human spaceflight if the space shuttle is retired this year with no proven replacement capability and the Constellation program is simultaneously canceled as the president proposes."
Citizens Against Government Waste
Citizens Against Government Waste
Citizens Against Government Waste is a 501 non-profit organization in the United States. It functions as a think-tank, 'government watchdog', and advocacy group for fiscally conservative causes...
has consistently opposed the SLS earmark as well. According to CAGW, "The private sector should be relied upon to fulfill the U.S. mission in space. If the U.S. has a requirement for a heavy-lift launch vehicle to carry beyond low-Earth orbit, there should be a new, full and open competition to determine the best path forward."
Other Republicans have criticized the SLS earmark, which has even become an issue in the Presidential primary. At a town meeting hosted by the Dallas Tea Party, Presidential Candidate and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich
Newt Gingrich
Newton Leroy "Newt" Gingrich is a U.S. Republican Party politician who served as the House Minority Whip from 1989 to 1995 and as the 58th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999....
criticized politicians supporting the Space Launch System, "I think it is disgraceful the way getting into space has been turned into a political pork-barrel. It’s an abuse of the taxpayer and an abuse of America’s future.”
Financial reform
When questioned by Fox Business News whether she was worried about her constituents turning on her for continuing to block financial reform of banks and financial institutions, Hutchison said, "If we just vote by polls that's wrong, we have to do what's right. This is not a Wall Street Bill this is a mainstream Bill that needs to cover throughout the financial industry. The problem was not mainstream banks. We need to make sure that we don't over-regulate the mainstream banks so they can't loan to small business." Hutchison decided to vote for Senate Republican amendments to the financial reform bill before eventually voting against HR 4173, the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009, on May 20, 2010.Bailouts
Senator Hutchison voted for the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (Division A of , commonly referred to as a bailout of the U.S. financial system, is a law enacted in response to the subprime mortgage crisis...
., which authorized the creation of the Troubled Assets Relief Program
Troubled Assets Relief Program
The Troubled Asset Relief Program is a program of the United States government to purchase assets and equity from financial institutions to strengthen its financial sector that was signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush on October 3, 2008...
.
Political future
Hutchison announced her intention to resign her Senate post in the autumn of 2009 in order to challenge Texas Governor PerryRick Perry
James Richard "Rick" Perry is the 47th and current Governor of Texas. A Republican, Perry was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998 and assumed the governorship in December 2000 when then-governor George W. Bush resigned to become President of the United States. Perry was elected to full...
for the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
nomination. State Republican Chairman Cathie Adams
Cathie Adams
Cathie L. Adams is a homemaker from Dallas, Texas, who is the former chairman of the Republican Party of Texas. She won the post in a special meeting of the Republican State Executive Committee held on October 24, 2009, at party headquarters in Austin...
later called upon Hutchison to clarify when she would vacate the Senate so that other Republican candidates can make preparation for their races.
On November 13, 2009, Hutchison announced that she would not resign from the Senate seat until after the March 2, 2010 primary. On March 31, 2010, she announced her intention to serve out her third term.
On January 13, 2011, after some discussion about whether she would change her mind, Hutchison announced she would not seek re-election in 2012
United States Senate election in Texas, 2012
The 2012 United States Senate election in Texas will be held on November 6, 2012 along other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives. Incumbent Republican U.S...
.
On June 22, 2011, Hutchison told Chris Matthews
Chris Matthews
Christopher John "Chris" Matthews is an American news anchor and political commentator, known for his nightly hour-long talk show, Hardball with Chris Matthews, which is televised on the American cable television channel MSNBC...
on Hardball with Chris Matthews
Hardball with Chris Matthews
Hardball with Chris Matthews is a talk show on MSNBC, broadcast weekdays at 5 and 7 PM hosted by Chris Matthews. It originally aired on now-defunct America's Talking and later CNBC. The current title was derived from a book Matthews wrote in 1988, Hardball: How Politics Is Played Told by One Who...
that she had pondered running for president, but said she could not run in the 2012 election
United States presidential election, 2012
The United States presidential election of 2012 is the next United States presidential election, to be held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. It will be the 57th quadrennial presidential election in which presidential electors, who will actually elect the President and the Vice President of the United...
due to having two 10-year-old children.
Electoral history
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em ; font-size:95%"|+ Texas Senator (Class I): Results 1988–2006
!|Year
!
!|Democrat
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
!|Republican
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
!|3rd Party
!|Party
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
!|4th Party
!|Party
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
|-
|1988
|
| |
| align="right" |3,149,806
| |59%
|
| |Beau Boulter
Beau Boulter
Eldon Beau Boulter is a Washington, D.C.-based lobbyist who was a Republican U.S. representative from Texas between 1985 and 1989....
| align="right" |2,129,228
| |40%
|
| |Jeff Daiell
| |Libertarian
Libertarian Party (United States)
The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
| align="right" |43,989
| align="right" |1%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|1993
|
| |Bob Krueger
| align="right" |576,538
| |33%
|
| |
| align="right" |1,188,716
| |67%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|1994
|
| |Richard W. Fisher
Richard W. Fisher
Richard W. Fisher is currently the President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, having assumed that post in April, 2005.-Career:...
| align="right" |1,639,615
| |38%
|
| |Kay Bailey Hutchison
| align="right" |2,604,218
| |61%
|
| |Pierre Blondeau
| |Libertarian
Libertarian Party (United States)
The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
| align="right" |36,107
| align="right" |1%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|2000
|
| |Gene Kelly
| align="right" |2,025,024
| |32%
|
| |Kay Bailey Hutchison
| align="right" |4,078,954
| |65%
|
| |Douglas Sandage
| |Green
Green Party (United States)
The Green Party of the United States is a nationally recognized political party which officially formed in 1991. It is a voluntary association of state green parties. Prior to national formation, many state affiliates had already formed and were recognized by other state parties...
| align="right" |91,329
| align="right" |1%
|
| |Mary Ruwart
Mary Ruwart
Mary J. Ruwart, Ph. D. is a research scientist and libertarian speaker, writer, and activist. She was a leading candidate for the 2008 Libertarian Party presidential nomination and is the author of the award-winning international bestseller "Healing Our World."-Biography:Born in Detroit, Ruwart...
| |Libertarian
Libertarian Party (United States)
The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
| align="right" |72,657
| align="right" |1%
|
|-
|2006
|
| |Barbara Ann Radnofsky
Barbara Ann Radnofsky
Barbara Ann Radnofsky is a Democratic politician from the U.S. state of Texas. She is the first woman to have won the Democratic nomination for a U.S. Senate seat in Texas.-Early life and career:...
| align="right" |1,555,202
| |36%
|
| |Kay Bailey Hutchison
| align="right" |2,661,789
| |62%
|
| |Scott Jameson
| |Libertarian
Libertarian Party (United States)
The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
| align="right" |97,672
| align="right" |2%
|
|
|
|
|
|
External links
- U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison official U.S. Senate site
- Kay Bailey Hutchison official campaign site
- Profile at SourceWatchSourceWatchSourceWatch is an internet wiki site that is a collaborative project of the liberal Center for Media and Democracy...
- Profile at PoliGu.com