Evan McMorris-Santoro June 24, 2010, 10:49 AM

The positive headlines just keep on coming for Democrat Bill White this week. On the heels of polling numbers showing the former Houston mayor running close to incumbent Gov. Rick Perry (R) in the Texas gubernatorial race, White is now welcoming some support from his old boss, former president Bill Clinton.

Clinton will send an email on White’s behalf today, calling on Texans to get behind the man who served as a deputy energy secretary during Clinton’s first term before becoming mayor of Texas’ largest city.

The email is highlights White’s time as mayor of Houston during Hurricane Katrina, when the city welcomed thousands of displaced residents of New Orleans and the surrounding area. White’s campaign has often heralded the period, for which Houston was widely praised, out on the campaign trail.

“In Houston, he became one of the most effective, respected, and popular mayors of a large American city in decades,” Clinton writes in the email. “And all Americans witnessed his amazing leadership after Hurricane Katrina.”

Recent polls have shown the race to be closer than many outside observers might expect in a state as solidly Republican as Texas. A PPP (D) poll released yesterday showed the race to be tied, though most other polling has shown Perry to be ahead.

The TPM Poll Average shows Perry ahead of White by a margin of 46.1%-40.8%.

It’s still too early to say how this race will play out in the long-term. But on the national level at least, White is enjoying a nice bump in his profile as poll numbers suggest he’s got a chance at becoming Texas’ first Democratic governor since George W. Bush defeated Ann Richards in 1994.

TX-GOV