2010: Perry Has $10 Million on Hand

Gov. Rick Perry's campaign reported today raising more than $8 million since July 1, eclipsing his Democratic challenger, former Houston Mayor Bill White, by more than $3 million.

From the Perry campaign:

AUSTIN – The Texans for Rick Perry campaign today announced it has raised $28,305,340 this election cycle from 18,571 contributors, a significant increase in money raised and number of contributors from past elections. The campaign raised $8,266,334.66 between July 1 and Sept. 23 this year, including $443,892 in online contributions. The campaign reports $10,014,478.75 cash on hand.

"Texans from across the state continue to generously support Gov. Perry’s re-election campaign and his principled leadership which has made Texas the envy of the nation," said Texans for Rick Perry spokesman Mark Miner. “Gov. Perry is proud to have broad support for his policies to further strengthen our economy, create more jobs, improve our state’s education and secure our border.

White, you'll recall, hasn't had trouble keeping pace with Perry previously. But in White's report today, which details fundraising from July 1 to Sept. 23, he fell short. His campaign collected $4.7 million, but noted that it raised more than $20 million since Dec. 4 and did so without a competitive primary challenge, as Perry faced. 

Perry now retains a significant cash-on-hand advantage, roughly $10 million to White's $2.75 million. The White campaign, which had $3 million more on hand after the last reporting period, says it spent money on television advertising early, diminishing its reserves. 

We'll have to look at the campaigns' detailed reports tomorrow to judge their fundraising and spending this period.