Career: Fort Worth lawyer and oil and gas investor. ...Spent six years in the Texas House in the 1970s. ... Partner with George W. Bush in the Texas Rangers baseball team, and its president, 1991-99. ... Served in the Bush administration as ambassador to Australia and Japan.

Strengths: Says he has the finances to run and can appeal to independents and centrist Democrats, needed to build a broad enough base to beat the GOP nominee next fall.

Questions: Will Democratic voters forgive his close association with Republican Bush? Can he survive if better-known Democrats get in?

Pet proposal: Education, including focus on early childhood, dropout prevention and post-secondary education.

Trivia: His brother, Bob, is a longtime reporter for CBS News.

Latest poll: In a new survey by the nonpartisan Texas Lyceum, a leadership development group, 80 percent of likely Democratic voters had yet to make a choice.

Democratic rivals: Other declared or potential candidates include author and musician Kinky Friedman, state Sen. Kirk Watson of Austin and Garland therapist Mark Thompson, the party's 2008 Railroad Commission nominee.

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