The Hill News

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) appeared cool to Texas Gov. Rick Perry's (R) possible presidential ambitions, saying it's "pretty far" along in the campaign to win her support.

Hutchison, who wrangled with Perry in a sometimes-bitter 2010 primary for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, said that she thought Perry would be a "formidable" contender for the nomination nonetheless.

"He certainly will be formidable. He has a very good political team ... I know that firsthand," she said Friday on MSNBC.

"We just have to see how things play out. I've talked to other candidates I like very much," she added. "I haven't made a decision [on an endorsement], but I think we're pretty far on down the road."

Perry is said to be taking a second look at running for president amid a field that has no clear front-runner. His possible campaign won coverage this week in The Wall Street Journal and Washington Post, which only ! stoked further speculation that he could make a late entry into the race.

The resignation by a slew of senior aides to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's (R-Ga.) presidential campaign â€" many of whom had also done stints with Perry â€" could provide him with a base of staff and advisers to mount a campaign.