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Wendy R. Davis is a former Democratic member of the Texas State Senate, representing District 10 from 2009 to 2015. Davis did not seek re-election to the Texas State Senate in 2014.
On September 26, 2013, multiple news outlets, including The New York Times, reported that Davis had decided to run for Governor of Texas in the 2014 elections. On October 3, 2013, Davis officially announced her decision to run for Governor. Wendy Davis lost the general election on November 4, 2014.
Davis received a bachelor's degree from Texas Christian University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.
In addition to being a senator, Davis is also an attorney. Prior to her position in the state senate, Davis was on the Fort Worth City Council, where she worked closely with the Texas Legislature.
On June 26, 2013, Davis led a filibuster of a controversial abortion bill under debate in the Texas State Senate that lasted for nearly eleven hours. Davis rose to speak at 11:18 AM and continued until 10:00 PM, when a Republican senator raised a point of order and argued that, since Davis went off topic, she must yield the floor. The presiding officer agreed, and ended the filibuster. Other senate Democrats used parliamentary procedures to stall the vote until after midnight when the session officially ended. Although the bill eventually came to a vote just after midnight and passed 17-12, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst (R) announced that the vote was constitutionally invalid and that the bill did not pass.
The abortion bill eventually passed in a second special session, called by Governor Rick Perry (R) with the intent of passing the bill.
Davis reportedly raised $1.2 million for her campaign in the six weeks after her filibuster. About sixty percent of her donations came from within Texas, and nine of her ten largest donors were from Texas. Her campaign reported 24,000 donors, with an average donation of $52.
Davis' website highlighted the following campaign themes: Job Creation – Economic Stability
Education
Easing family budgets
Veterans – Our Nation’s Heroes
Truth in Budgeting, Honesty With Taxpayers
Davis was a Democratic candidate for governor in 2014. She reportedly explored races for governor, lieutenant governor and Congress, but Davis told reporters that she would only be interested in running for her state senate seat or for governor in 2014. Several polls have asked residents whether they would vote for Davis for governor. Davis was urged by Texas Democrats and labor leaders to run for governor. In an email to supporters on September 18, 2013, David said she would announce her campaign plans on October 3.
On September 26, 2013, multiple news outlets, including The New York Times, reported that Davis had decided to run for governor. She made her official announcement on October 3, 2013.
Davis won the primary election on March 4, but lost the general election on November 11, 2014.
| Texas Gubernatorial Democratic Primary, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
 Wendy Davis |
78.1% | 432,595 | ||
| Reynaldo "Ray" Madrigal | 21.9% | 121,419 | ||
| Total Votes | 554,014 | |||
| Election results via Texas Secretary of State. | ||||
| Governor of Texas, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Greg Abbott |
59.3% | 2,796,547 | |
| Democratic | Wendy Davis | 38.9% | 1,835,596 | |
| Libertarian | Kathie Glass | 1.4% | 66,543 | |
| Green | Brandon Parmer | 0.4% | 18,520 | |
| Write-in | Sarah Pavitt | 0% | 1,062 | |
| Total Votes | 4,718,268 | |||
| Election results via Texas Secretary of State | ||||
On her campaign website Davis listed four main issues of her campaign.
| “ |
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| —Wendy Davis for Governor 2014 campaign, http://www.wendydavistexas.com/issues/ | ||
In January 2014, details came to light that cast doubt on the Davis campaign's narrative of her young adult life. A report in The Dallas Morning News found that Davis's first divorce was finalized at age 21, not 19 as she had previously said. Subsequent to that divorce, she lived with her daughter for "only a few months in the family mobile home" as opposed to the longer length of time that her campaign had previously implied.
Local commentators judged these to be important revelations because Davis's personal story was a key part of the her campaign's appeal.
On January 29, 2014, a reporter with conservative Watchdog.org filed an ethics complaint with the Texas Ethics Commission, alleging several discrepancies between Davis' personal tax returns and her personal financial statements as State Senator from 2010 to 2012.
Davis ran in the 2012 election for Texas State Senate, District 10. Davis ran unopposed in the May 29 primary election and defeated Mark Shelton (R) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.
Senate District 10 drew Republican interest in 2012, prompting large contributions to both candidates in District 10. In the last six months of 2011, Davis reported raising $569,162 in donations while her opponent, District 91 Republican incumbent Mark Shelton, raised $273,518.
| Texas State Senate, District 10, General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Wendy Davis Incumbent |
51.1% | 147,103 | |
| Republican | Mark Shelton | 48.9% | 140,656 | |
| Total Votes | 287,759 | |||
On Nov. 4, 2008, Davis won election to the 10th District Seat in the Texas State Senate, defeating opponents Kim Brimer and Richard Cross.
Davis raised $2,185,654 for her campaign while Brimer raised $1,891,603 and Cross raised $0.
| Texas State Senate, District 10 (2008) | Candidates | Votes | Percent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wendy Davis (D)
|
147,832 | 49.91% | ||
| Kim Brimer (R) | 140,737 | 47.52% | ||
| Richard Cross (L) | 7,591 | 2.56% | ||
