Candidates for Texas governor add to coffers in expensive race

By Marice Richter DALLAS (Reuters) - The Texas governor’s race, expected to be one of this election season's most expensive, saw both candidates raising about $11 million between February and June 30, according to campaign data released on Tuesday. Front-runner Greg Abbott, a Republican now serving as the state's attorney general, has an overall war chest of $35.5 million four months before the election. The campaign of Democrat Wendy Davis, a state senator, said it had raised $27 million since last July. That is higher than the $26.3 million raised by Democrat Bill White in his unsuccessful 2010 race against Governor Rick Perry. Perry, a possible Republican presidential candidate in 2016, is stepping down at the end of this term. Democrats have not won a statewide election in Texas since 1994. Shifting demographics are working in favor of the Democrats as Hispanics, largely reliable Democratic voters, are poised to become the majority population group by 2030, under current trends. (Reporting by Marice Richter; Writing by Jon Herskovitz)