Kay Bailey Hutchison to Stay in the Senate

Last November, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison promised to step down after the March 2 gubernatorial GOP:

"For all of the good Republicans out there who plan on running for my seat next year, make no mistake: This [retirement] is going to happen. It just isn't going to happen until after health care reform and cap and trade are finished. And that will be after the primary election."

Reid Wilson reports:

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) will announce today she has decided to serve out the remainder of her term [i.e. two more years], according to a source familiar with Hutchison's plans.

Hutchison was lobbied by a number of her Senate colleagues to stay in office, but it's not clear that was in the best interests of the GOP. Republicans should be able to hold the seat in 2012, but that's no guarantee, whereas it looks pretty close to impossible for a Democrat to win a Senate seat in Texas this coming November. In other words, Hutchison's decision to stay is not exactly a huge coup for the GOP.