Wendy Davis running for Governor of Texas

[merithyn]

Link

HALTOM CITY, Texas (Reuters) - Wendy Davis, the Texas state senator who staged a filibuster against sweeping abortion restrictions, announced on Thursday that she would run for governor of the state.

"Texas is a place where we aim high and we take big risks," Davis told hundreds of cheering supporters at a rally outside Fort Worth. "We're builders, and doers, leaders, and dreamers. We love Texas, not only for how good it is, but for how great we know it can be."

The announcement ends months of speculation over the political future of the 50-year-old Democrat, who gained national attention when she talked for nearly 11 hours on the Texas Senate floor in June to temporarily block new restrictions on abortion.

Davis, a second-term state senator, saw her popularity skyrocket when her stand in the now-famous pink running shoes drew thousands of demonstrators to the state capitol and played out in livestreams on websites across the United States.

The bill would have banned most abortions after 20 weeks and imposed strict new requirements on clinics. It eventually passed, but Davis' newfound popularity continued and she was able to add $1 million to her campaign coffer.

Davis, who unseated a Republican incumbent to win her Senate election, seeks the spot held by Republican Gov. Rick Perry, the former presidential contender who has said he will not seek re-election.

Davis emphasized education and healthcare during her announcement at a rally on Thursday afternoon at the coliseum where she received her high school diploma, in the working-class Fort Worth suburb of Haltom City. About two dozen anti-abortion protesters carried signs outside the coliseum during the event.

Davis took the stage as the Alicia Keys song, "This Girl is on Fire," blared over loudspeakers.

A Harvard graduate and twice-divorced mother of two, Davis rose from poverty as a single teen mom in a Texas trailer park to a successful career in law and politics.

"No matter where you start, no matter how you start, that place has nothing to do with how far you can go," Davis said on Thursday. "God bless you all. God bless Texas."

If Davis gets her party's nod during the primaries next spring, she is expected to face an uphill battle.

Her likely opponent would be Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, the current GOP frontrunner who has amassed a war chest close to $25 million. The election is due to be held in November 2014.

Perry has not said what his plans are, but many speculate that he will try a second time for the Republican nomination for president. His attempt in 2011 fell flat.

Supporters of Davis in Texas had been trying to recruit her to run for governor since 2011, when she forced Republicans into a special legislative session over their plans to cut billions from state education, another bill that eventually passed the GOP-dominated statehouse.

[derspiess]

I'd let her filibuster my bill.

[Caliga]

Yeah.  Too bad she can't possibly win due to being a Democrat in Texas.

[Ed Anger]

I'd let her filibuster my bill.

OMG, RAPE KULTURE!

[derspiess]

Yeah.  Too bad she can't possibly win due to being a Democrat in Texas.

The ghost of Ma Richards still lingers over the governor's mansion.

[Valmy]

Yeah.  Too bad she can't possibly win due to being a Democrat in Texas.

The ghost of Ma Richards still lingers over the governor's mansion.

Unless Abbott runs a campaign as inept as Clayton Williams did he should be fine.

This might be the first Democratic politician we have had for awhile who is interesting at all though.

[Viking]

Running for Texas Governor on a Pro-Choice ticket?

[merithyn]

Running for Texas Governor on a Pro-Choice ticket?

Pro-choice, pro-education, pro-healthcare.

It's almost like she's a woman or something.

[Viking]

Running for Texas Governor on a Pro-Choice ticket?

Pro-choice, pro-education, pro-healthcare.

It's almost like she's a woman or something.

Are you suggesting that men are anti- choice, anti-education and anti-healthcare?

[Ed Anger]

MERI! DANGER!

[viper37]

Running for Texas Governor on a Pro-Choice ticket?

Pro-choice, pro-education, pro-healthcare.

It's almost like she's a woman or something.

Are you suggesting that men are anti- choice, anti-education and anti-healthcare?

Texas men might be.  I don't know...

[merithyn]

Running for Texas Governor on a Pro-Choice ticket?

Pro-choice, pro-education, pro-healthcare.

It's almost like she's a woman or something.

Are you suggesting that men are anti- choice, anti-education and anti-healthcare?

In Texas? Yes.

[Razgovory]

Her dad did make pretty good hamburgers.

[Viking]

Running for Texas Governor on a Pro-Choice ticket?

Pro-choice, pro-education, pro-healthcare.

It's almost like she's a woman or something.

Are you suggesting that men are anti- choice, anti-education and anti-healthcare?

In Texas? Yes.

Valmy, you want to take this?

... or, maybe he lives in Austin and as everybody know Austin isn't Texas.

[Ed Anger]

Her dad did make pretty good hamburgers.

Oh Raz.