 In late 2008, it was widely rumored that Leppert would run in a potential special election for Kay Bailey Hutchison's United States Senate seat, which she was widely expected to vacate during her run for Texas governor; in a December newspaper interview, Leppert denied he had started to campaign, but he refused to entirely rule out the possibility.However, Hutchison retained her Senate seat, and her gubernatorial campaign ended when she lost the 2010 Texas Republican primary to incumbent Rick Perry.Rumors soon circulated that Leppert was considering a Senate run directly against Hutchison in 2012, a possibility he did not refute during an April 2010, interview.