Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst is giving House candidate Milton Rister a boost, lending his name and presence to an Austin fundraiser for his former employee.

Rister, a Georgetown Republican, is running in HD-20, where Dan Gattis is the current state representative. Gattis is running for Senate, leaving the seat open.

Rister is a former executive director of the Texas GOP, former head of the Texas Legislative Council, and a Republican political op who helped former Speaker Tom Craddick win a Republican majority — and thus, the speakership — in the Texas House.

He's got at least two opponents looking at that seat: Dr. Charles Schwertner of Georgetown and Cedar Park City Councilman Stephen Thomas.

Dr. Sam Harrison, a potential candidate for the Texas Senate seat now held by Steve Ogden, says he'll endorse Dan Gattis instead of running himself.That leaves Gattis, currently a Republican state representative from Georgetown, with one potential opponent for now. Ben Bius, who ran unsuccessfully for the House earlier this decade, has expressed an interest in Ogden's job. Gattis is moving quickly, though, and already got some county GOP chairs — including Bius' home county leader — to endorse him. Ogden, who's been in the state Legislature since 1990, announced a couple of weeks ago that he won't seek another term.

Elise Hu, The Texas Tribune More reporters than supporters showed up at Democrat Hank Gilbert Jr.'s Austin campaign event Wednesday, where he announced he's formally in the 2010 race for governor. The supporter count hovered near five. Journalists totaled eight. Gilbert's focusing on fixing education, boosting alternative energy use and protecting property rights as he begins a 13-stop campaign tour of Texas. But is anyone listening? One "supporter" in the Austin audience said he was merely "passing time before [his] haircut appointment". Gilbert staffers stress the Scholz Garten event was planned for press only, but that supporters were invited to show up if they were available. "Our problems can't be fixed with entrenched politicians," Gilbert said, singling out candidates named "Ted" Schieffer and Kay Bailey "Hutchinson". ehu@texastribune.org

Republican gubernatorial candidate Kay Bailey Hutchison adds Keats Norfleet as a "senior advisor" to her campaign.He was the deputy campaign manager for Hutchison's last race and most recently was president of The Election Group (one of the offspring of the Fort Worth-based Eppstein Group). Norfleet adds some Texas experience to the campaign and starts as a voice that Hutchison heeds. She originally had Eppstein and company on the campaign team; this gives her back the member of that crew who had the most time working with her.

John Shults will take over as president of The Election Group.

Dr. Bob Hillman, who is the state veterinarian and the head of the Texas Animal Health Commission, will retire at the end of the year after almost seven years at the agency. Before he had the job here, he was the state veterinarian of Idaho.

Gov. Rick Perry appointed:

• Lori Valenzuela of San Antonio to the 437th district court. She was previous an attorney and a part-time magistrate judge. And she's a former assistant district attorney.

• Lisa Jarrett of San Antonio to the 436th district court. She's also a private practice attorney and a former assistant DA.

• Mary Pincoffs Wilson of Austin to the board of regents at Texas Woman's University in Denton. She's a former foster family chairman for Helping Hand Home for Children.

• Lowell Keig of Austin to the board of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. He's general counsel of Youth and Family Centered Services and was at one point a candidate for executive director of the state's Health and Human Services Commission.

• Borden Bell of Texarkana and David Neeley of Mount Pleasant to the Sulphur River Basin Authority's board. Bell is retired from business and Neeley is a senior consultant for the Elliot Auto Group.

• Cary "Mac" Abney of Marshall, Connie Wade of Longview, and Connie Ware of Marshall to the Sabine River Authority board of directors. Wade and Ware are being reappointed; Abney is new to the board. Abney is a CPA. Wade is Gregg County Clerk. Ware is a former teacher and the president and CEO of the Marshall Chamber of Commerce.

• Jerry Daniel of Truscott, George "Wilson" Scaling of Henrietta, and Cliff Skiles of Hereford to the Red River Authority's board. They're all being reappointed. Daniel is a rancher and real estate investor. Scaling owns Scaling and Co. Skiles is a veterinarian.

• Sue Cleveland of Lumberton, Jimmie Ruth Cooley of Woodville, and Kathleen Thea Jackson of Beaumont to the board of the Lower Neches Valley Authority. All three are being reappointed. Cleveland is president of Cleveco Construction Co. Cooley is retired from the real estate business. Jackson is an engineer and public affairs manager with Exxon Mobil Corp.

• Dr. William Purifoy of Fort Worth to chair the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners and appointed Dr. James Chancellor of Garden Ridge to that board. Purifoy is a periodontist. Chancellor is a dentist.

• Former Harris County Clerk Charles Bacarisse of Houston to chair the Texas Department of Information Resources, and named Richard Moore of Goliad to that board. Bacarisse is vice president for advancement at Houston Baptist University, and Moore is a retired veep of business and administration at UT Medical Branch in Galveston.

• Zoe Barinaga of Houston to the Gulf Coast Waste Disposal Authority. She's a marketing manager with Exxon Mobil Chemical Co.

Deaths: Don Yarborough, who ran for governor and for lieutenant governor and helped lead the liberal wing of the Texas Democratic Party in the 1960s. He was 83.

Tina Benkiser will join Gov. Rick Perry's reelection campaign, leaving the chairmanship of the Texas Republican Party after six years in that post. Benkiser, a Houston attorney, will be a "senior advisor" to the Perry campaign on October 5. She told the State Republican Executive Committee of the change this morning, according to the Perry campaign. And the press release announcing the move included a stinger from the GOP leader directed at Perry's rival for the governorship, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. "I am stepping down as chairman so that I can enthusiastically support the only true conservative in the Texas governor’s race, Governor Rick Perry," she said. "Gov. Perry loves Texas and he cares about Texans. He has shown leadership when Washington has not, and he has shown courage when others have bailed." No replacement has been named. Early speculation about Benkiser's replacement centered on former Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams, who couldn't be reached for comment. Williams has a conflict: He's running for U.S. Senate if Hutchison steps down to jump into the governor's race. Benkiser became chairman in 2003 and presided over the party while it was, on one hand, increasing the number of local-level Republican officeholders and losing elections in the Legislature and in the state's two biggest counties, Dallas and Harris. Dallas, which has flipped on the countywide level from red to blue, is a particular trouble spot for the GOP right now. "Kay Bailey Hutchison, a lifelong Republican, is committed to growing the party, like Ronald Reagan," said Jennifer Baker, speaking for Hutchison. "She looks forward to working with a new chairman to reinvigorate Texas Republicans and increase our majorities in the Legislature."