Farouk Shami donated $4,800 to Bill White's senate campaign. Now the Houston mayor can use the money against him.
Farouk Shami donated $4,800 to Bill White's senate campaign. Now the Houston mayor can use the money against him. Matt Stiles

It appears that Farouk Shami, the wealthy hair-care executive running as a Democrat for governor, may have funded his own competition.

Shami is among at least 240 people who’ve given U.S. Senate candidate Bill White $4,800 — the maximum allowed under federal rules for a combined primary and general election.

Now, of course, White is considering whether to get into the governor’s race. If so, he can spend the $4 million senate warchest, which includes Shami’s cash, in that effort.

MORE: Download a list of White’s $4,800 donors (through September 30). Additional records are available in our federal campaign-finance database.

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Matt Stiles covered government and politics for the Tribune, with a focus on data journalism, from 2009 to 2011. He oversaw and developed the Tribune’s library of web applications and interactive graphics....