AUSTIN, Texas -- Republican Gov. Rick Perry has defeated Democrat Bill White to win a third four-year term as Texas governor.

Perry hammered hard all year on the theme that the Texas economy is better than many states and that hundreds of thousands of jobs have been created during his decade in office.

He also repeatedly criticized President Barack Obama and national Democrats and tried to link White to them.

White is the former Houston mayor. He kept his distance from the president and cast himself as an independent Democrat. He had claimed Perry had been governor too long and that he was using his office to reward his friends and campaign donors.