Texas Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis — who made national headlines earlier this year for a marathon filibuster of her state's strict new abortion rules — announced Thursday afternoon that she is running for Texas governor. Gov. Rick Perry is not seeking re-election, and his fellow Republican, the state's Attorney General Greg Abbott, has already confirmed he is running. But the big open question, according to the Associated Press, is of whether national donors will donate enough money to help her win. "That's the biggest hurdle she's going to face," said one political science professor. No Democrat has won statewide office in Texas since 1994, but supporters say the single teenage mother turned successful Harvard-trained lawyer has the charisma and progressive politics to break the party's political drought in Texas — and possibly put the state in play in time for the 2016 presidential election.
