Gov race: Top D's square off

FORT WORTH, Texas (KXAN) - There are three weeks to go until the primary, and the state’s top two Democratic candidates for governor square off for the first time in Fort Worth.

Former Houston Mayor Bill White and hair-care mogul and millionaire Farouk Shami went head to head in a live, hour-long debate before a small studio audience at the CBS affiliate in Fort Worth.

The questions centered around education, teen pregnancy, the environment, the economy, capital punishment and transportation.

Moderators brought up the wedge issue from the 2009 Legislative session, the voter ID bill. Both candidates said they would oppose requiring a photo ID at the polls.

"We have a good system now," said Shami. "Let's not waste our time on nonsense."

Audience members had a chance to ask the candidate's questions. The first one centered around employment.

"There should be job training for people of all ages," said White.

Shami said he would give $10 million to the state and guarantee everyone in the state would end up with a job while he is Governor.

Protecting the border was an issue raised by a voter via e-mail. Shami said he would work with businesses to create jobs on the border and a way toward legal immigration. White said he would work with law enforcement to stop gangs. He also had a Perry moment and blamed the Federal government for not protecting the Texas border adequately.

Though White has extensive political experience as a three-term mayor of one of Texas’ largest cities, Shami is new to the political arena.

Palestinian-born Shami, however, is no stranger to challenges. Coming to the United States with little money in his pocket, Shami built a multimillion dollar hair-care empire and invented the CHI, a hugely popular hair-straightening tool sold worldwide.

Shami plans to use his business acumen as the main selling point of his candidacy, pointing out that jobs are needed more than anything else in this economic climate. At the beginning of his campaign, Shami said he planned to open solar panel factories in cities across Texas as he campaigned for votes.

White has been concentrating more on education throughout his campaign tour. A son of teachers, White has repeatedly said Texas needs to improve its school system in order to prepare the state for a bright and prosperous future.

An extremely popular mayor, White has captured the support of the more mainstream Democratic leaders in the state and has raised more in contributions than his competitor. Shami, however, has committed $10 million of his own money to the campaign.

Though there are five other candidates on the Democratic ballot for governor, KERA only invited Shami and White to the debate based on the results of their nonpartisan poll - which showed these two men as the only ones with support from at least six percent of primary voters.