| The Houston Chronicle has reported that Houston Mayor Bill White raised more than $640,000 in the final 15 days of 2008 for his campaign for the U.S. Senate. White began the year with $737,000 on hand. That number includes a $120,287 contribution he made to his own campaign. More than $640,000 in 15 days is a very impressive number. In 2007, Senate candidate Rick Noriega reported raising about $570,000 after close to three months of fundraising. RG Ratcliffe pointed out that in fifteen days White raised roughly one quarter of what Noriega raised during his entire campaign. John Sharp, the only other declared Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, did not start raising money until this year. Like White, Sharp is expected to contribute some of his own money to his campaign. On the Republican side of the race to replace Kay Bailey Hutchsion, former Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams began the year with $131,000 on hand, while Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones has $145,000 and state Sen. Florence Shapiro has $375,556. All of this and we do not even know when the election will be. |
