Meet the Texan Who Filibustered the Abortion Bill

Wendy Davis: From single teen mom to Harvard Law grad
By Ruth Brown,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 26, 2013 10:52 AM CDT
Meet the Texan Who Filibustered the Abortion Bill
Wendy Davis reacts after she was called for a rules violation during her filibuster of a Texas abortion bill.   (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

So who is this Wendy Davis, the Texas Democratic state senator who had much of the country enthralled yesterday as she led a 10-hour filibuster of an abortion bill that would ban the procedure after 20 weeks? Davis, 50, was raised by a single mother and also became a single mother at 19, following a divorce, reports USA Today. She started working at age 14 to help support her two siblings, attended community college, Texas Christian University, then finally Harvard Law School, where she graduated with honors. Before beating an incumbent Republican for her state senate seat, she was a city council member in Fort Worth.

With even the president tweeting #StandWithWendy, attention has naturally turned to where she goes from here. "Hillary Clinton/Wendy Davis 2016" was a popular refrain in the Twittersphere last night, reports Politico, while the Star-Telegram examines a slightly more modest proposal: Whether she could take Rick Perry's governorship if he steps down to focus on a presidential run. A political scientist from Rice University says she would have "no chance whatsoever." But the chairman of the Texas Democratic Party seems to think she's a sure thing. "I’m hoping she runs for statewide office," he tells Raw Story. "She’d probably get elected governor, or whatever other office she wants to run for." (More Wendy Davis stories.)

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