White, Perry lock down governor bids

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Mayor Bill White will formally enter the race for governor today, instantly becoming the Democrats' best hope of winning a statewide office in seven years.

White, a three-term mayor who is balding and known for something of a bland personality, is expected use self-deprecating humor to tell a Hilton Americas crowd of supporters that he knows he is not a “perfect candidate” but is someone who can get things done.

White has said he wants to end “strident partisanship” in Austin. He will tell supporters he wants to improve high school graduation rates and slow the rising costs of insurance and college tuition.

He will build his campaign on a record as Houston mayor, claiming lower crime rates and successful battles with polluters to clean the city's air even while being opposed by the state's environmental protection agency.

White will face four opponents in the Democratic primary, and the winner of that contest will take on the victor of the Republican fight between Gov. Rick Perry, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and activist Debra Medina.

Perry, the longest-serving governor in Texas history, officially filed to run Thursday for an unprecedented third full term.

Perry said he has a conservative record of holding the line on state spending and keeping the state's economy from sagging as badly as the rest of the nation. He said it is up to the states to stand in the path of a federal government “run amok” over national health care and climate change legislation.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6752337.html