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Former Houston Mayor Bill White may be trailing all three Republican candidates for governor in a new survey, but a top Democratic consultant said it shows him as well-positioned to start the general election.

The latest survey by the political newsletter Rasmussen Reports found White trailing Gov. Rick Perry 48 percent to 39 percent; U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, 49 percent to 36 percent; and activist Debra Medina, 41 percent to 38 percent.

The survey of 1,000 likely Texas voters was conducted Monday.

Democratic consultant Ed Martin said the poll results are good for White because he is not known very well outside of Houston, where he served as mayor from 2003 through 2009.

Martin noted Hutchison and Perry both were first elected to statewide offices in 1990.

“Bill White is within arms reach of them, and we have not yet started making the contrast between a problem solver and two career politicians.”

Martin said the nation is in an anti-incumbent mood against both parties.

He said White’s service as Houston mayor will be a plus in a race against either Hutchison or Perry.

“I don’t think Texans are looking for good hair. They’re looking for good leadership,” he said.

Republican Party of Texas spokesman Bryan Preston said the survey also found more than 63 percent of the Texans surveyed believe the federal government should cut both spending and taxes to spur the economy.

“If you look at where Texas voters are on the big issues, such as government spending and taxes, they stand on the Republican side,” Preston said. “That’s why any Republican beats the top Democrat in a head-to-head match-up for governor.”

Preston said that is bad news for White and any other Democrat running for statewide office.

“What the Rasmussen poll tells me is that the voters of Texas aren’t fooled,” Preston said. “Bill White’s casting himself as a moderate, but he’s still connected to the national Democratic machine in the voters’ minds.”