We concede that it’s way too soon to start thinking too hard about the next Texas gubernatorial race — the primaries are still eight months away, and the election won’t be until Nov. 2, 2010. But then, it will be hard for Texans who enjoy political strategy and gamesmanship to wait for a starter’s pistol to go off when such interesting contests loom on the near horizon.

Already the coming election is shaping up as one of the most noteworthy ever. Start with a presumed Republican primary in March between the state’s longest-serving governor and a popular U.S. senator, then throw in a potentially credible Democratic challenger at a time when the party might be poised to make a comeback.

The Texas Republican Party, a decade and a half into its statewide dominance, is at a place where Democrats used to be, with heavyweights squaring off in the political ring. The likely battle between Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison is by far the biggest intra-GOP race this state has ever seen.

Even before Hutchison has formally entered the contest, the sharp elbows have been flying from both camps. The early jabs suggest that it will be a bruising, knock-down campaign.

Perry has been running hard for months, positioning himself to the right on issues such as states’ rights while trying to make amends with people angered by his dead-but-not-forgotten Trans-Texas Corridor plan.

Hutchison can’t out-conservative Perry, so she has started making the case that she would be more effective, including contending that a special legislative session wouldn’t have been necessary if she had been governor.

Meanwhile, Tom Schieffer, a former state representative and U.S. ambassador, has announced that he will seek the Democratic nomination. State Sen. Kirk Watson, former Austin mayor, is considering it as well, and Kinky Friedman, who won 12 percent of the vote in 2006 as an independent, says he’ll run this time as a Democrat.

Democrats haven’t won a statewide election since 1994, and their party declined so sharply that their 2006 slate was made up almost entirely of “who’s that?” candidates. But the party made inroads in the 2008 legislative races and may benefit from shifting demographics and, if it remains high, President Obama’s popularity.

Texans should be heartened and excited that several good candidates have stepped forward to say they want to lead. The state needs eager and engaged politicians to help it progress as it can and should.

As a side benefit, those who enjoy good a good political brawl are in for a treat, and if they aren’t sated after 16 months of it, well, won’t 2014 by then be just around the corner?