Update: Our reporting partners at the Texas Tribune have a recap of Davis' announcement:
Davis promised to be an advocate for those who feel they no longer have a voice in the halls of the Texas Capitol, to fight for more education dollars and to take on Republicans leaders who she said are listening to their campaign contributors instead of average Texans. "In Austin today, our current leadership thinks promises are just something you make to the people who write big checks," she said, according to remarks distributed before she delivered them. "But the promise I’m talking about is bigger than that. It’s the promise of a better tomorrow for everyone. Texas deserves a leader who will protect this promise. Texas deserves a leader who will keep it."
It’s a long campaign ahead. Republican opponent Greg Abbott has a head-start in fundraising; the Davis campaign is said to need to raise about $40 million to be competitive.
Meanwhile, an anti-abortion group is targeting Davis in a bilingual radio advertising campaign in South Texas. Texas Right to Life criticizes Davis for opposing new restrictions on abortion in Texas, calling her an “abortion zealot.”
The general election is set for November 2014.
Original story (4:30 p.m.): Today, State Sen. Wendy Davis is widely expected to announce her candidacy for Texas Governor.
The Democrat from Fort Worth should is making the much-anticipated announcement this afternoon, in the Fort Worth-area civic center where she received her high school diploma.
Davis faces an uphill climb. Texas hasn’t had a Democrat in the Governor’s Mansion since Ann Richards lost to George W. Bush in 1994. But a recent poll puts Davis within eight points of Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott, who’s also running for office. The majority of those polled – 50 percent – were undecided.
Still, Davis’ announcement has generated plenty of attention – and hasn’t exactly been unexpected. Democratic sources leaked word of Davis’ intentions last week. And earlier today, before the announcement, Davis’ website advertised her run for governor.
KUT’s Ben Philpott is on the scene, and sent in the above photos.
