Texas Lt. Gov. Dewhurst to run for Senate

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AUSTIN, Texas, July 19 (UPI) -- Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst plans to make a video announcement this week he is running for the U.S. Senate seat held by Kay Bailey Hutchison, an aide says.

Dewhurst is the front-runner for the Republican nomination even though he gave other candidates a head start by postponing his announcement until the end of the legislative session, the San Antonio Express-News reported. One quarter of respondents to a University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll in May supported Dewhurst with no other candidate breaking out of single digits.

Mike Walz, Dewhurst's press secretary, said he will announce by midweek, skipping the usual tour around the state in favor of fundraising.

Former state Solicitor General Ted Cruz, former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert and former Texas Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones have announced they are running in the Republican primary, while Sen. Dan Patrick of Houston has said he will make a decision by mid-August. Retired Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, who commanded the coalition ground forces in Iraq in the first year after the invasion, is the only Democratic candidate so far.

Hutchison, a Republican who has been in the Senate since 1993, has announced her retirement.