Wendy Davis, the Texas Democrat who made national headlines with her staunch opposition to pro-life legislation brought by Republicans, has seen her star power fade a bit in recent months, as party colleagues say not so quietly: She doesn’t have a chance at all to win the governor seat.
National Democrats in particular are dismissing her chances, Politico reported. Recent poll numbers show she’s been trailing her Republican contender — Attorney General Greg Abbott — by an average of 12 percentage points over the past few months.
“We’re hopeful in Texas, but we all understand that Democrats haven’t won Texas in a long time,” said Democratic Governors Association Chairman Peter Shumlin, Newsmax reported. “We hope this will be our year.”
But another Democrat told Politico that Ms. Davis never stretched her wings to show that she was more than a one-issue candidate.
“One, it’s Texas,” so Democrats are already behind, the unnamed source said, Newsmax reported. “Two, the Davis campaign, coming out of … a big national event, had the strategic imperative to make sure she was defined as something more than an abortion filibuster candidate, and given the early hiccups, I’m not sure they ensured that imperative.”
The source continued, Newsmax said: “And then the third piece of why this is tough is because, Greg Abbott. We agree on nothing, but in terms of being a candidate, he’s well-funded. He seems to have united a very strong Texas Republican Party. These are all fundamental factors in the race.”
Ms. Davis, however, thinks she still has a good chance.
“I don’t spend time thinking about whether someone in Washington, D.C., believes that this is a winnable race,” she said, Politico reported. “I know it is.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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