Holy shit!
http://www.usatoday.com/...
Democrat Wendy Davis outraised Republican Greg Abbott in the last six months of 2013 for what will probably be a barn-burner race for Texas governor.
Davis said she raised more than $12.2 million from July through December, while Abbott brought in $11.5 million over the same period. But Abbott, the state attorney general, now has $27 million in the bank for the race to succeed outgoing Gov. Rick Perry in the GOP stronghold.
Davis, a state senator from Fort Worth, did not state her cash on hand. She has an uphill battle in Texas, which hasn't elected a Democrat as governor since Ann Richards in 1990. Political experts estimate it will take $40 million for a candidate to mount a successful campaign in a state where expensive TV ads are necessary.
This is the first campaign report from Davis since she formally declared her candidacy in October. She burst onto the national scene last year with her marathon filibuster of a bill restricting access to abortion. - USA Today, 1/14/14
Here's a little more info:
http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/...
Word from inside the Davis camp is that her fundraising haul over the last six months will be north of $10 million — and will include some big-dollar donors whose contributions are crucial to a successful statewide candidate.
While some of her money will come from a dwindling pool of wealthy Democratic donors capable of writing checks of $25,000 or more — people like Houston trial lawyers Steve and Amber Mostyn — much of Davis’ money is expected to come from small contributors from across the country.
Those donors are attracted by Davis’ headline-grabbing filibuster for abortion rights last year and her personal story: teenage mother in a trailer park to Harvard Law School grad. The Davis camp believes those small-dollar donors constitute a network of contributors she can go back to to fund her campaign through the year.
Abbott, the likely Republican nominee, started with more than $20 million in the bank and is expected to report a big fundraising total on Wednesday when campaign reports are due.
Nobody doubts that Abbott’s total will far surpass the Fort Worth state senator’s. He has been in statewide office more than a decade and has a reliable list of millionaire and billionaire donors. Davis is making her first run at statewide office. Both Abbott and Davis have spent the last six months doing a lot of fundraising to launch the election year.
As our Gromer Jeffers reported last week, Democratic donors gathered recently at the Dallas home of prominent trial lawyer Lisa Blue Baron for a Davis fundraiser. The goal inside the Davis campaign is to raise $45 million to compete against Abbott in the fall. - Dallas Morning News, 1/14/14
This is quite impressive indeed! Yes, this is going to be an expensive race and yes we have a long road ahead of us but Davis is getting the base and excited and we should be. Another big story to break out regarding Davis was her education plan for Texas:
http://abclocal.go.com/...
State Sen. Wendy Davis announced several education proposals Thursday aimed at recruiting new public school teachers in Texas, including guaranteeing admission to state universities for top students who want to teach, raising teacher pay and offering student loan forgiveness.
The Democratic front-runner for governor didn't say how much her ideas would cost. She said she intended to use "existing state resources" and would not seek a tax increase.
"I do believe that education must be the No. 1 priority that we address as a state," Davis said at a round table at the University of Texas at Arlington.
Davis said high school students in the top 20 percent of their classes should be guaranteed admission to the University of Texas at Austin or other state institutions and a job teaching in a state school after graduation.
She said the state should forgive one year of student loan debt for every teacher who works two years in a qualifying school, and that loan forgiveness should be available to potential teachers in all fields of study.
Davis said Texas teachers were underpaid and decried stories of some teachers working a second or third job to make ends meet, saying they "simply aren't earning enough." According to the National Education Association, the national teachers' union, starting Texas teachers were paid about $1,000 less than the national average during the 2011-12 academic year.
She also wants to boost the number of teacher's aides and school counselors in the state. - AP, 1/9/14
Lets keep the momentum going people! If you want to donate or get involved with Davis' campaign, you can do so here:
http://www.wendydavistexas.com/