Wendy Davis rose to national prominence after an 11-hour filibuster of a bill that banned abortions beyond 20-weeks (about five months) of pregnancy and regulated a dozen abortion – sorry, “women’s health” facilities – out of business.
That should have been the end of her stardom.
Alas, Democrats in Texas convinced Davis that she should run for governor because, apparently, running a candidate whose name was synonymous with abortion in a deep red state seemed like a winning idea.
And unsurprisingly, it hasn’t worked out well for them.
Almost from the beginning, Davis struggled. She announced her campaign in early October 2013 – to much fanfare and claims she could win – but just one month later made her first gaffe, claiming that her views on abortion meant she was “pro-life.”
Cue snickers.
By January 2014, Davis’ campaign began to unravel as it was discovered that the life story she told about herself wasn’t accurate. Davis reorganized her campaign staff after the blunder, hiring Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s former communications director Zac Petkanas and demoting the former communications director, Bo Delp, to deputy.
In March, a poll not only showed that Davis trailed her opponent, Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott, by double digits but that she even trailed him among women – a group she had expected to win.
By the end of April, nearly six months after Davis announced her candidacy, the chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, Peter Shumlin, voiced his pessimism for Davis’ chances. The next day, Delp resigned and Petkanas claimed it was to “consider a number of other opportunities in Texas Democratic politics.” (Meaning he was probably pushed out.)
Signs that the Davis campaign couldn’t gain steam became apparent in June, when the campaign tried to raise money by charging fans $20 to attend parties celebrating the anniversary of her famous filibuster, but ended up having to give tickets away for free.
The campaign meltdown was not fully on display until recently, when Davis began attacking her opponent – who is in a wheelchair – for not caring about other victims of tragedy. And despite the fact that major news outlets from MSNBC to the Washington Post to Mother Jones excoriated Davis for the ad, which featured the image of an empty wheelchair, she refused to give up the attack for an entire week. She even continued to embarrass herself by claiming Abbott wanted to “kick” the ladder down for victims.
Davis began this week with another gaffe, claiming Abbott might actually re-institute the interracial marriage ban because he didn’t answer yes or no to an editorial board about a law overturned before he was born.
And this week, Davis made another pair of gaffes. The candidate said she would be “thrilled” if President Obama came to Texas to campaign for her — even though Obama lost Texas in 2012 by 16 points. That statement was quickly followed by Davis retweeting someone who claimed to have voted for her — a tweet that included a photo of college Republicans, not Davis supporters. Who knows what the last 12 days of the election will bring?
Davis should have used her 15 minutes of fame to become the “new face for abortion rights,” which Politico suggested in June. Politico, however, was referring to liberal groups wanting Davis to take up that mantle after she loses the election. But with such a disastrous campaign, will they still want her?
Davis could have become the Left’s Sarah Palin without going through the process that left her looking more qualified to work at an ice cream shop than serve in public office. She could have used the fame from her filibuster to immediately begin receiving big speaking fees and raising money for abortion-supporting candidates, but instead she showed the country she was not ready for prime time.
She could still be the Left’s Sarah Palin, but she would have had more merit had she skipped the campaign and gone straight for the paycheck.
