Dewhurst Might Run For Governor. Maybe.

David Dewhurst is thinking about it. Not that he's saying he's in or anything, but the Lieutenant Governor met with the Statesman's editorial board on Monday, and, while saying that he's got stuff he must do for the 2009 Lege session, he hinted that a gubernatorial run might be in the cards.

"If I do the things I need to do to put myself in a position to win, if I run for governor, I expect to win," Dewhurst said.

Politicians always hedge until they have to give a straight answer about whether they are running for a particular office or not. Dewhurst has plenty of reasons to be extra careful, and not just because the field for Governor in 2010 could be really stacked.

A primary against anyone is, of course, more difficult than getting the nomination unopposed. In Dewhurst's case, the primary is likely to include at least a few heavy hitters from the state GOP. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison has been talked about as a possibility, and my own inference is that she and Perry might have a Blair/Brown type of agreement, in that she didn't force a primary last time so maybe Perry won't run again this time.

Perry running again is also a possibility, but his last performance was less than stellar and isn't likely to be forgotten. Outside of those two, you never know who might decide to get rowdy and make a run for the sun from a lower state office.

Also, this last legislative session is usually referred to within the context of how ridiculous it was, and Dewhurst would either need some sort of big leadership victory, or at the very least a clean and non-tumultuous session, in order to not carry that weight into the GOP primary. The state's Republicans will be looking for someone with as few vulnerabilities as possible to bolster the statewide ticket against what is likely to be a formidable Democratic slate in 2010.

I know, it seems like 2010 is impossibly far away, since we're still a ways out from 2008's cycle. I would argue, though, that now is when deals and plans start being made for this kind of race at this level, and the posturing and maneuvering has already begun. All of the candidates are in unique positions, and although I feel like Dewhurst would defer to Perry if Perry decided to run again, I don't know that I can be sure about that when the statewide political climate is taken into consideration.