It’s not official yet, but from the sounds of it Wendy Davis has decided to mount what is likely to be a high-profile campaign to replace outgoing-Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Politico’s Alexander Burns with the scoop:
Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis and her advisers have begun informing influential Democrats that she intends to run for governor in 2014, according to multiple sources familiar with Davis’s conversations. …
Davis advisers declined to confirm that she will enter the governor’s race, but Davis consultant Hector Nieto said the senator has made up her mind about 2014 and will unveil her plans next week. “Sen. Davis has decided what she will do and she looks forward to making that announcement with her grassroots supporters on Oct. 3,” Nieto said.
Obviously, nothing is official until it is. But the fact the Davis camp is confirming that she has indeed made a decision, while at the same time not denying the report, suggests that Burns’ scoop is legit.
Davis has been the subject of plenty of will-she-or-won’t-she speculation since she captured the nation’s attention with her one-woman filibuster of an anti-abortion bill authored by Lone Star State Republicans. While her legislative victory was short-lived (the GOP was able to pass the bill in a subsequent special session) it turned the previously little-known state senator into a hero for Democrats and their like-minded allies.
Assuming the report proves true and she and her now iconic pink sneakers do jump into the ring, she’s expected to face Republican state Attorney General Greg Abbott, who currently enjoys a rather hefty advantage in both the polls and early fundraising. (Much of Davis’ political cash, however, was ostensibly being raised for her state senate reelection campaign, so she’ll likely see an influx in donations once she makes things official.)
