Cornyn eyes May 2010 for special election to fill Hutchison seat

National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman John Cornyn (R-Texas) said Monday he is preparing for a May 2010 special election to fill a vacant seat should Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) resign.

Hutchison said last week that she would likely resign late this fall to pursue her gubernatorial challenge to incumbent Gov. Rick Perry (R). She later hedged a bit, saying she’d only resign if Perry decided not to seek reelection.

But Cornyn, the head of Republicans’ Senate campaign efforts, signaled that he’s getting ready for a Hutchison resignation.

“The most important concern I have is about what happens in that special election, which it looks like it may be in May 2010,” he said during an interview on MSNBC.

Cornyn said he’ll stay neutral in the sure-to-be contentious primary in his home state, focusing instead on the open Senate seat the GOP will have to defend.

“This is an open special election, which last time Texas had something like this, Texas was a blue state in 1961 and John Tower, a Republican, was able to win under the circumstances,” Cornyn said.

“So as head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee and as somebody who’s worried about our diminished numbers here, I want to make sure that doesn’t happen next year,” he added.