Perry reiterates plan to run in 2010

By KELLEY SHANNON

The Associated Press

FREDERICKSBURG - Republican Gov. Rick Perry said Friday he's definitely running for re-election in 2010 and compared himself to the chief executive of a prosperous corporation that is in no need of a change at the top.

"I look at it like this, is that if Texas were a corporation - and we would be one of the most efficient, most successful corporations in the world - and if you're a stockholder in that corporation, why in the world would you want to change your CEO when things are going well?" he said.

Perry spoke to reporters after an event at the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg. Asked whether the decision he announced last month to run for re-election was firm, he replied, "Oh yeah, yes."

Two other prominent Republicans, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, each have been eyeing his job.

Hutchison, who has been considering a run for governor for years, came closest in the last year to stepping in the race, opting out of moving up the Senate leadership ladder and saying, "There's not anyone who could really make a case to me that this would be divisive for the Republican Party in a way that would make me step back.

After Perry first mentioned running for governor, Hutchison said, "Whatever. I'm just going to do what I'm going to do."

Hutchison's political consultant, Bryan Eppstein, said Friday, "She has an interest in possibly pursuing the governor's office in 2010, but at this time she's not ready to make a decision on it."

In previous election years, she has chosen not to run for governor, avoiding a divisive GOP primary.

Some had speculated that Perry, who will become the state's longest-serving governor later this year, may have simply been posturing so as not to look like a lame duck during the 2009 Legislature.

But Perry said Friday he's going to be a candidate.

"I'm going to make the pitch to the people of the state of Texas. I'm going to go to them and ask them to continue to allow me to be the chief executive officer of this state," Perry said.

He said Texas' economy is strong and its children are doing well in school.

"Texas is ahead of the pack," he said.

A spokesman for Dewhurst said Friday the lieutenant governor hadn't decided yet what office he might seek in 2010 and was concentrating on the upcoming legislative session.

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Kelley Shannon has covered Texas politics based in Austin since 2000.

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