Perry says Hutchison should stay in US Senate

After months of attacking U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, Gov. Rick Perry said Thursday that she’s fighting “the good fight” against the Obama administration and should stay in the Senate.

“I think it would be in Texas’ best interest for the senator to stay there, to continue to fight the good fight and, you know, finish her term out, frankly,” Perry said in an interview with Dallas-area radio host Mark Davis two days after fending off Hutchison’s challenge in the GOP gubernatorial primary.

Perry’s comments — and those of U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, who said Wednesday that Hutchison should stay put — could give Hutchison political cover if she decides not to resign.

Hutchison, whose term expires in 2012, has said that she would leave the Senate regardless of who won the primary. She has not indicated exactly when, but she has said that she wants to remain long enough to fight health care reform legislation.

“Nothing has changed in regard to her position on resignation,” Hutchison spokeswoman Jennifer Baker said Thursday. “We have nothing to add. What she has said stands.”

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