Wendy Davis announced yesterday that she will run for Texas governor in the November 2014 elections. Second-term Senator Davis (D-Fort Worth) became an overnight icon in June, with the help of social media, when she successfully filibustered a restrictive anti-abortion bill that bans abortion at 20 weeks and places unnecessary restrictions on medication abortion, among other things. The bill later passed, but it is beingchallenged by women’s health centers and reproductive rights organizations across Texas.
The current Texas Governor, Republican Rick Perry, will not run for reelection, so Davis’ most likely opponent will be Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. He is heavily supported by conservatives and has already amassed a large amount of campaign funds. His anti-abortion policies mean he and Davis may go head-to-head over abortion rights in the race. In a recent poll conducted for the Texas Lyceum, Abbott leads Davis 29 percent to 21 percent, but half of the voters polled said they didn’t know who they would support.
In Davis’ announcement, she emphasized improving education, creating jobs, and building a better, more equal Texas. On her Twitter account yesterday, Davis wrote, “Texas deserves a leader who understands that making education a priority creates good jobs for Texans and keeps Texas on top” with the hashtag #TeamWendy.
Media Resources: Feminist Newswire 6/26/13, 10/3/13; Reuters 10/3/13; Texas Lyceum 10/2/13; The Washington Post 10/3/13; Twitter
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