Democrats shake tree for governor candidates

MySA.com: Metro | State: "'The Democrats have serious fundraising issues that they're going to have to prepare for,' said Cal Jillson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. 'The money is going to flow to current officeholders and likely winners, and right now those are Republicans.'

Chris Bell, a former one-term congressman who lost re-election to his Houston-area seat in the bitter redistricting battle of 2003, has launched an exploratory committee for the state's highest elected office.

Other names have been floated over the past few months — former Comptroller John Sharp and Laredo businessman and defeated 2002 gubernatorial candidate Tony Sanchez, to name two — but only Bell has formalized an exploratory bid."