AUSTIN -- Houston Mayor Bill White vows he will run in a special election for the Senate seat currently held by Kay Bailey Hutchison.
Since Hutchison has promised she'll stay in the Senate until at least March, Election Day might still be a year away, if it ever happens at all.
All that uncertainty has fueled speculation that white would be better off dropping out of the race and just running for governor himself.
"I'm running for the U.S. Senate,” White said before a rally at an Eastside restaurant on Friday. When press, he repeated, "Yeah, I'm running for the U.S. Senate."
White says his experience running the fourth-largest city in the country prepares him to be Texas' next U.S. Senator; he maintains that's the only job he wants.
"Gosh, Texas needs a voice,” he said. “A voice that represents the public interest not some special interest."
Despite that, White concedes there's really no easy road to victory. The race for Senate is full of uncertainty and The major candidates for governor are getting down to business.
Incumbent Governor Rick Perry, and Hutchison have both released their first campaign ads on YouTube. They'll air soon on TV stations around the state.
Whoever wins the democratic primary for Senate would have to battle it out with statewide political heavyweights, likely to include Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and railroad commissioner Michael Williams.
In the race for governor there are more than a half-dozen possible candidates on the democratic side, including former Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle and Humorist Kinky Friedman.
The winner would have to face a heavily favored Republican.
Even as two Republican icons duke it out, Mayor White maintains that a Democrat can represent Texas in the Senate.
"Over the last 10 years you've seen the fastest growing group of Texas to be those who call themselves independents,” White said.
White has raised more than $6 million to fund his campaign. Much of that cash is likely to be used on building name recognition around the state.
