White to run first ad in Democratic primary
AUSTIN — The air war has begun in the March 6 Democratic primary to select a candidate to challenge Republican incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott.
Houston entrepreneur Andrew White, the only one of nine Democrats in the race who has raised enough funds to buy costly television time, announced Sunday night that on Monday he will start airing a 30-second spot on Houston cable and regular television stations.
The commercial touts his credentials as a leader by showcasing his efforts to rescue flood victims in his fishing boat in parts of Houston after Hurricane Harvey blasted the city last September.
White’s ads will run for the next four weeks, through the primary election day.
While White would not disclose Sunday the cost of the ads, his campaign said they were “looking into other markets” for ads, as well.
The spot is the first aired by any of the nine Democrats who are vying against each other in the primary. Abbott has two little-known Republican challengers in the primary and has not yet run any ads for himself, although has aired two at a reported cost of six figures against state Rep. Sarah Davis, R-West University Place. Abbott has endorsed her challenger.
It underscores both White’s push to turn out Houston voters to get him through the primary and his fundraising lead in the race where he has raised more than $1.3 million, including a $1 million loan from himself, while closest rival Lupe Valdez has raised just over $100,000.
White, 45, a Houston entrepreneur and son of the late Gov. Mark White, is running as a “common-sense” Democrat without the endorsement of the party’s top elite because of his more-conservative positions on some issues.
Top party leaders are backing Valdez, the former Dallas County sheriff.
Titled the “Son of Texas,” the ad “tells the story of (White’s) rescue efforts during Harvey, the worst natural disaster in American history,” White’s campaign confirmed.
“These are the text messages neighbors sent Andrew White when Harvey hit. For five days, he went out in a small boat to help everyone he could,” the narrator says in the ad.
“A common sense leader, Andrew knows Texas can do better. He’s running for Governor to do right by every Texan. No matter what it takes.”