AUSTIN — In the strongest signal yet that Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison intends to run for governor, the Texas senator told Republican colleagues Thursday that she won’t seek re-election to a top GOP leadership position.

At a closed-door luncheon on Capitol Hill, Hutchison told fellow GOP senators she will give up the No. 4 spot "in order to explore new opportunities that many Texans have asked me to consider."

Hutchison has sent repeated signals in recent months that she is considering returning to Texas to run for governor in 2010. Republican Gov. Rick Perry has said he intends to seek re-election.

The decision not to remain chairman of the Republican Policy Committee could clear the way for her to focus attention on a possible gubernatorial campaign.

"It is in the best interests of the conference to elect a new policy committee chairman who can commit full attention throughout the next Congress to policy committee responsibilities," she said.

Hutchison, who has served in the Senate since 1993, is the state’s most popular statewide elected official, easily outdistancing Perry and fellow Sen. John Cornyn in the polls.

She decided against challenging Mr. Perry in 2006 but has since said that she would not be dissuaded from a potentially fractious primary fight if Perry chose to seek reelection to another term in two years.

Hutchison, a 65-year-old mother of two, is a former Texas legislator who served as state treasurer before being elected to the Senate.

Her decision likely will trigger jockeying among the GOP leadership, potentially opening a spot up the ladder for Cornyn.

A year ago, Cornyn began lining up support for the fourth-ranked leadership spot when there were indications Hutchison might seek to move up to the No. 3 position in the GOP hierarchy. She abandoned that bid, however, after stirring some resistance over concerns about a possible governor’s bid.