Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson To Retire

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-Texas) will not run for a fourth term in 2012.

In a letter to supporters obtained by the Dallas Morning News, Hutchinson says “I am announcing today that I will not be a candidate for re-election.”

She adds, “That should give the people of Texas ample time to consider who my successor will be.”

Hutchingson, who joined the Senate in 1993 and is the ranking Republican on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, says that this is not the first time she has considered leaving the upper chamber.

“The last two years have been particularly difficult, especially for my family,” Hutchinson’s letter states. “But I felt it would be wrong to leave the Senate during such a critical period. Instead of putting my seat into a special election, I felt it was my duty to use my experience to fight the massive spending that has increased our national debt; the government takeover of the our health care system; and the growth of the federal bureaucracy, which threatens our economy.”

Hutchinson’s letter marks the first retirement announcement since the 2010 mid-terms.