/ KVUE News Team

06:42 PM CST on Friday, November 11, 2005

By LEE MCGUIRE / KVUE News

There are just 102 days before polls open in the race for governor, but Governor Rick Perry's main challenger hasn't said much lately.

Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn has been relatively quiet since launching her campaign in June.

Strayhorn has a lot of money in her campaign war chest, but lately, many political observers have noted that her momentum seems to be dwindling, just as Governor Perry is picking up steam.

On a sweltering summer day five months ago, the state's republican comptroller turned months of speculation into reality and ran full speed ahead at incumbent republican Rick Perry.

But aside from some radio ads, Strayhorn's campaign has barely made a peep since then. Perry has compiled an impressive list of endorsements, including the State Association of Firefighters, the Texas Public Employees Association and the Teamsters.

Strayhorn has scored no big endorsements.

Perry has also pulled off some political coups, including placing potential democratic opponent John Sharp at the head of a school finance reform team.

The governor's been highly visible in the state's hurricane response. Even Independent candidate Kinky Friedman has a reality show airing on Country Music Television.

But Strayhorn is standing her ground, appearing as a keynote speaker at a Veterans Day ceremony at the Capitol. She says her campaign is going well, but did not want to answer questions about it on the holiday.

"I'll be delighted to talk about that any time any place anywhere I'll be delighted to talk about the issues, where we are going in this state but today, today is the day to remember to respect and to pray for our men and women who are still in harm's way," Strayhorn said.

Early voting in the gubernatorial primary begins in February.