Davis set to explore gubernatorial bid

The female Democratic state senator who led a 10-hour filibuster against a major abortion bill said she’s seriously considering a bid for the Texas governorship. 

{mosads}Wendy Davis told a crowd of several hundred women in San Francisco on Friday that she was “very, very seriously considering” launching a campaign to replace Republican Gov. Rick Perry next year.

“It’s about time that we have a general election conversation” that does away with the notion that Texas is a right-wing fortress, said Davis to the cheering crowd, according to the Los Angeles Times. “That’s not who we are.”

Davis came into the national spotlight in June after she filibustered a Republican-sponsored bill — which was eventually signed into law   — that bars women from getting abortions if they’ve been pregnant for 20 weeks of more.

This week, Davis argued that Republicans had stifled the role of women in the political debate at large by controlling the redistricting and the drawing of political boundaries.

She said she was seriously exploring whether she could stand a winning chance at taking on the Republican establishment in waging a fight for the Texas governor’s mansion. No Democrat has been governor of Texas since 1990.

“When you ask people to invest their time, their energy and their financial resources in you, you want to make sure that you’re asking them to do something that’s achievable,” Davis said.

The event on Friday was organized by Emily’s List, a major fundraising and organizing group that backs Democratic women.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is the leading Republican contender for the office. Abbott has raised more than $20 million.