White raises $130,000 for governor’s race

Candidate paces Democratic hopefuls with $944K in bank; leader Valdez has $70,000

AUSTIN — The Democrat who's running second in the race for governor still has the most campaign cash, a new report shows.

Houston entrepreneur Andrew White reported raising $130,000 since the end of January, with $944,000 in campaign cash in the bank, according to his latest disclosure report filed Monday with the Texas Ethics Commission.

By contrast, the campaign of rival Lupe Valdez, who polls show is leading White going into the final week of the primary race, reportedly has raised $70,000, according to a text late Monday from her campaign. No detail about her report was immediately available.

Valdez has consistently trailed White in fundraising since they announced in December, although Valdez's campaign has said she is working to bring in additional dollars — and was to attend a fundraiser in California last weekend.

“We're grateful to the hundreds of donors who are connecting with our message of bringing common sense and sanity back to Texas,” White said in a statement Tuesday.

White's report show he raised the latest amount from 340 donors, and has the largest amount in the bank mostly because of a $1 million personal loan he made to his campaign last month. The report shows he has spent $280,000 on a television that that highlights his rescue efforts in a small boat during Hurricane Harvey last fall, heroics for which he is to be honored by the Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner this week.

White and Valdez are leading seven other candidates in the March 6 Democratic primary. On his latest filing, Dallas businessman Jeffrey Payne showed he raised $2,100 in the past month and has $146 on hand.