Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison’s announcement Monday that she would challenge Gov. Rick Perry for the GOP gubernatorial nomination next spring sets in motion what will be both an incredibly contentious primary, and a special election to fill the remainder of Hutchison’s Senate term, which expires in 2012.
Hutchison has said that she will resign her seat at some point this fall to devote her time and attention to the gubernatorial primary. Under Texas law, the Governor will appoint someone to fill the seat until a special election is held. And, this is where things become complicated. The appointee may or may not run in the special, which will constitute a single ballot on which all candidates run, regardless of party. If no candidate gets 50 percent of the vote, plus one, then the top two finishers, regardless of party, proceed to a run-off. If history is any guide, a run-off is inevitable.
There have been two special Senate elections in Texas since the law that created the single-ballot contest was enacted in the late 1950s. The first occurred in
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