Anti-Washington crusade puts Perry close to re-election
Austin, Texas (CNN) - Rick Perry has been governor of Texas since the waning days of the Clinton administration.
The Republican has worked in the state capital of Austin in some fashion - state legislator, Agriculture Commissioner, Lieutenant Governor - since 1985, so long ago that he was actually a Democrat at the time of his first election.
White likens Perry to a school child
Houston, Texas (CNN) - Bill White, the Democratic nominee for governor in Texas, compared Gov. Rick Perry on Wednesday to an immature school child who refuses to take responsibility for his actions.
White, the former mayor of Houston, made the comments to reporters after a tour of YES! Prep North Forest, a publicly funded charter school on the city's north side where White's son is a first-year teacher.
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White hammers Perry over tech fund questions
(CNN) - Texas Gov. Rick Perry's Democratic challenger came out swinging Monday after the Dallas Morning News published a lengthy investigation into more than $16 million in state technology grants given to companies run by top Perry campaign donors.
Former Houston Mayor Bill White, trailing by six or seven points according in recent polls, called on the Republican governor to "come clean" about why money from the taxpayer-funded Texas Emerging Technology Fund, created by Perry in 2005, was steered to "hand-picked" companies.
Democrats upping ante in Texas showdown
(CNN) - Democrats are raising the stakes in the gubernatorial battle deep in the heart of Texas.
The Democratic Governors Association launched a television commercial Tuesday attacking Republican Gov. Rick Perry, who's bidding for a third full term in office. The ad characterizes Perry as a career politician, with the narrator asserting that "on the issues, 25 years as a politician has changed Rick Perry – for the worse."
No debate for Perry and White
(CNN) -Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Houston Mayor Bill White have spent most of the summer sparring over whether or not to have a debate in their race for the Governor's office with a deadlock being the apparent result.
"There is no formal debate," said Texans for Rick Perry Press Secretary Alejandro Garcia
White had until Sept.15th, a deadline set by Perry to submit the remainder of his tax returns which included returns from the 1990s when he worked under the Clinton Administration.
Candidates running for public office have no formal process when it comes to submitting their tax returns for public viewing. Garcia said it is up to the candidate to decide how they want to make their tax returns public this is separate from the campaign finance reports each candidate must file with the Texas Ethics Commission.
Poll shows tight gubernatorial race in Texas
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/07/15/art.white.perry.jpg caption =" A new poll indicates that Gov. Rick Perry's lead over Democrat Bill White is shrinking."]
(CNN) – Texas Gov. Rick Perry, once thought to be the clear favorite to win his reelection bid this November, finds himself only 6 points ahead of Democrat Bill White, according to a new survey.
A University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll out Monday indicates Perry leading former Houston Mayor Bill White by a 39-33 percent margin among registered voters, a spread that has shrunk from the more-than 10-point lead Perry enjoyed during most of last spring and summer. And, given the poll's 3.5 percent sampling error, the race may essentially be a dead heat two months shy of Election Day.
Twenty-two percent of those questioned say they are undecided.
"White has not yet faded and remains in striking distance of Perry," sas Daron Shaw, a co-director the poll. "The downside for White is that Perry is up by 18 points among those who say they are extremely likely to vote. White needs a big turnout among young voters and minorities to be competitive."
In what may be good news for White however, a large number of undecided voters are independent or tilt moderate.
TX voting equipment lost in fire
Washington (CNN) – Officials are scrambling to ensure that voting this fall will occur as planned in one Texas county after a fire destroyed $30 million worth of voting equipment early Friday morning.
The fire in the Harris County Election Technology Center located in northeast Houston destroyed more than 10,000 pieces of voting equipment. The damage to the facility was so severe fire officials had to tear down the entire building, according to Harris County Clerk Spokesman Hector DeLeon.
But DeLeon said they're working to guarantee a trouble free election despite the fire.
"Our goal is still to conduct the election according to the guidelines," said DeLeon.
The lost equipment included everything from voting booths to eSlates, a computer-based machine used for collecting votes.
White a no-show, but Perry greeting Obama
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/03/03/art.white.gi.jpg caption="Bill White, the former Houston mayor, won't attend a rally with Obama on Monday."]Updated with White House response
(CNN) - President Obama is in Texas Monday in part to raise money for his party's candidates, but the Democrat vying to win the state's top office is nowhere to be seen.
Former Houston mayor and current gubernatorial candidate Bill White is campaigning in Midland and west Texas Monday. He told reporters last week the events had long been scheduled and that his "disciplined" campaign rarely changes events. He said no disrespect was intended to the president.
White's busy day comes a week after the Democratic nominee for governor in Georgia, Roy Barnes, also cited a scheduling conflict for missing the president's fundraising visit to Atlanta.
The Dallas Morning News said that after a Fort Worth appearance Friday, White was asked about being too closely aligned with Obama. White said, "I really don't think about stuff like that. I don't use national figures as surrogates for me. I tend to campaign for myself."
Democrat has cash lead over Perry in Texas
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/07/15/art.white.perry.jpg caption ="Former Houston mayor Bill White, a Democrat, has a more than $3 million cash advantage over Texas Gov. Rick Perry, right."](CNN) - Texas Gov. Rick Perry has been in office for 10 years in a heavily Republican state, but his Democratic challenger raked in more campaign cash during the most recent fundraising period.
Former Houston Mayor Bill White collected nearly $7.5 million between Feb. 20 and the end of June, while Perry took in $7 million.
But more impressive for White is the substantial war chest he has amassed since launching his bid last December.
With the election less than four months away, White has more than $9 million left in the bank.
Perry, who had to slog through a months-long primary fight against Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and conservative activist Debra Medina, has $5.8 million cash-on-hand.
White's campaign is touting support from small donors and first time contributors. More than 11,700 new donors gave to the campaign during the most recent filing period, and 75 percent of White's donors have $100 or less, according to the campaign
Perry's campaign said 87 percent of its contributions were less than $500.
Democrat could give Texas governor a run for his money
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/03/03/art.white.gi.jpg caption="Bill White, the former Houston mayor, isn't just Rick Perry's Democratic opponent in the Texas governor's race."]Dallas, Texas (CNN) - Bill White, the former Houston mayor, isn't just Rick Perry's Democratic opponent in the Texas governor's race.
He's Perry's polar opposite.
Bald, diminutive and soft-spoken, White offers a stark contrast to the swaggering, movie-star-handsome governor. If Rick Perry is a modern-day conservative cowboy, White is a practical-minded accountant, eager to chat about education funding, balancing budgets and the Public Utility Commission of Texas.
"Maybe I'm not the most glamorous of all the candidates, but my words are my own and they are the words that I am hearing from the people of Texas," White declared during a campaign stop Monday in Dallas.
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