Rick, Kay, and John Sharp... all the old guard of Texas elections...

Dave McNeely has an interesting story about how the political lives of Rick, Kay, and Democrat John Sharp go way way back (link). Excerpt follows...

The 1990 election was the first time all were on the same statewide ballot. Perry upset Hightower. Sharp was elected comptroller. Hutchison was elected treasurer, a job later abolished.

In 1993, Hutchison won a special election to replace Democratic U.S. Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, whom President Bill Clinton had appointed treasury secretary.

Hutchison had run after then-Gov. Ann Richards named fellow Democrat Bob Krueger to serve until the special election.

Richards had offered Sharp the appointment. Had he accepted, there might never have been a Senator Hutchison. But Sharp didn’t, and Hutchison beat Krueger in a runoff by a 2-1 ratio.

The other time all three were on the same ballot was 1994. Each was re-elected: Sharp as comptroller, Perry as agriculture commissioner, and Hutchison to the Senate.

Perry has never lost an election, though he won the GOP nomination for agriculture commissioner in 1990 in a runoff.

Hutchison has lost once — a primary election runoff for a Dallas congressional seat in 1982, to Steve Bartlett.

Sharp has lost twice — in 1998, to Perry, for the open lieutenant governor’s job, and in 2002, again for the open lieutenant governor’s job, to Republican David Dewhurst.

Although the 1998 Perry-Sharp faceoff was the only time any of the three have run against each other, Hutchison considered challenging Perry both in 2002 and 2006.

It is note worthy that Rick has never lost an election, Kay has lost one, and Sharp has lost two... but they are all looking like they are going to be on the ballot in 2010...