Via Politico, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R., Texas) has just announced she won’t seek re-election in 2012, saying she intended to leave office “long before now” but was persuaded by her colleagues to stay on.
“The last two years have been particularly difficult, especially for my family, 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 our health care system; and the growth of the federal bureaucracy, which threatens our economy. I will continue that fight until the end of my term in 2012,” Hutchison said.