If campaign finance reports are a show of strength, House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, is making a muscle. He'll report holding cash balances of around $3 million in his two accounts, and another $205,000 in the Texas House Leadership Fund that was set up by him and some of his chairs to hold and grow the GOP majority in the House. We haven't seen or heard the amounts yet, but his reports — according to someone who has seen them — will show donations to incumbents and to Republicans running in open seats. Straus has said he won't campaign against incumbent Democrats. Gov. Rick Perry's crew has been trying to shape expectations, telling reporters that he had an expensive primary and that his opponent, Democrat Bill White didn't. That sets up well, if you take the hook, whatever his numbers are: If he's got more money than White, he jumped a hurdle; if he didn't, well, there was a hurdle. The early tips from the White campaign, meanwhile, are that he's had more than 16,000 supporters since he declared for governor in early December, that three-quarters of those gave $100 or less, and that he'll have 11,700 newbies in the June 30 report that will be made public later today.

Democrat Bill White raised more money than Republican Rick Perry and had $3.1 million more in the bank than the governor at mid-year, according to their campaign finance reports.Perry raised $7.1 million from his last report through June 30, bringing his campaign's cash on hand at mid-year to $5.9 million. That's less raised and less on hand than Democratic challenger Bill White is showing in his mid-year report; White raised $7.4 million and ended the period with $9 million in the bank — $3.1 million more than the incumbent. Perry's campaign notes that their candidate had a financially competitive primary, and their spin on the mid-year numbers is evident in the headline on their press release: "Texans for Rick Perry Raises Over $20 Million for ’09-’10 Election Cycle." Perry has a total of 14,837 contributors during that period, and also raised $1.2 million of his total online. White's campaign says more than 16,000 people have contributed so far, more than three-quarters of them giving $100 or less. The reports due today cover the period ending June 30. If you had doubts, that foretells a well-financed governor's race on both sides. The heavy spending won't start for several weeks, but keep this (loose) rule of thumb in mind: It costs about $1.5 million a week to run television ads in the volume that moves votes in Texas elections. Both candidates have millions now, but they'll need more. The next reports are due 30 days before the November elections.

Gov. Rick Perry leads Democrat Bill White 50-41 in the latest poll from Rasmussen Reports. That's comparable to the 48-40 split the same pollsters reported last month, and with the exception of April (when they were four points apart), it's about where Rasmussen has had this race all year.According to Rasmussen, 55 percent of Texans approve of the job Perry is doing as governor. And he's leading White with men, with women, and with independents, according to the survey. Perry is regarded "very favorably' by 17 percent of voters and "very unfavorably" by 20 percent. The corresponding numbers for White are 24 percent and 18 percent. More than half of the respondents (51 percent) rated the economy as "poor" and only 12 percent rate it as good or excellent. Two-thirds oppose the federal health care bill, and about that many disagree with the U.S. Justice Department's decision to challenge the Arizona immigration law (Texas has joined other states opposing Justice on that issue). Rasmussen polled 500 Texans on Tuesday, July 13. The poll's margin of error is +/- 4.5 percent.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst is reshuffling eight Senate committee chairmanships.Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler, will replace Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, as chairman of Senate Administration. Williams, in turn, will replace John Carona, R-Dallas, as chairman of Transportation and Homeland Security. Carona will take over Business & Commerce, replacing Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, who now becomes the chairman of Natural Resources, which was previously run by Kip Averitt, R-Waco, who resigned. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, will chair the Select Committee on Veterans Health. Mike Jackson, R-La Porte, will cease to chair Nominations and will now head up Economic Development, where he will replace Chris Harris, R-Arlington. Bob Deuell, R-Greenville, will take over for Jackson on Nominations, and Harris will become the chairman of Jurisprudence, formerly chaired by Wentworth. Full lists attached below.

Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, says he's talking to the Texas A&M University System about a vice chancellor's job there, but says the issue is "unresolved," and that the public conversation about his intentions "is really premature." He talked with A&M Chancellor Mike McKinney on Sunday, adding fuel to talk that he might join the university system and leave the Legislature. And Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst shuffled committee assignments yesterday, leaving the veteran senator without a standing committee chairmanship. Wentworth says it's not a done deal, but it sounds pretty far along. "He [McKinney] is interested in having me on board and I'm interested in coming on board," he said this morning. An interesting side note: Wentworth said he'll remain on the November ballot whether he takes the A&M job or not. Leaving early would leave the nomination in the hands of party officials, and he thinks that's undemocratic. He'd stay on the ballot, presumably win (it's a Republican district, and his only opponent is a Libertarian) and then decline to take the seat. That would set up a special election where the candidates weren't chosen by party elders. "So the people could pick my successor," he said. As recently as April, he was denying rumors that he might leave the Senate. He was the runner-up — behind former Rep. Brian McCall, R-Plano — for the chancellor's job at the Texas State University System. He had been attributing the departure rumors to that episode. And later, he sent a scorching and very public letter to the chairman of the TSUS board, scolding the regents for choosing McCall over him.