965 and $123,520

That's as of a few minutes ago.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed, on behalf of Rick Noriega as well as all of us in the Tex-blogosphere who took on this challenge. You exceeded our expectations.

Now let's bring our troops home:

Can a Republican get elected with just the white vote?

They are certainly going to test the theory:

The top four Republican presidential candidates have set off a debate over whether the GOP is paying enough attention to blacks and Hispanics by skipping Thursday night's debate on minority issues.

The four leading Republican candidates — former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, Arizona Sen. John McCain and Mitt Romney — cited scheduling conflicts in saying they could not attend the debate at Morgan State University, a historically black college.

After the GOP pooh-poohed a CNN/YouTube debate, after they stiffed the Hispanic community by failing to make room on their schedules for an Univision face-off, after they criticized their Democratic counterparts for refusing to debate on the Fox Propaganda Channel.

Why, it even confounds Eye of Newt:

"I'm puzzled by their decision. I can't speak for them. I think it's a mistake. I wish they would change their minds — they still have a few days — and I wish they would in fact go to the debate Thursday night," Gingrich, who is considering entering the race for the GOP nomination, said earlier this week.

If it puzzles a man of his towering intellect, just imagine how the African-American community must feel.