Wendy Davis campaign runs controversial rape ad


Most polls show Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis (D) lagging behind state Attorney General Greg Abbott (R) in her bid to become the state's first Democratic governor in two decades. And in politics, when the battle looks like a tough one to win, sometimes the solution is a high-risk, high-reward gamble.
But the Davis campaign's decision to run an ad accusing the Republican Abbott of "siding with a corporation over a rape victim" is a very risky gamble, indeed. The ad began airing on Thursday night, describing a 1993 incident in which a woman said she was raped by a Kirby vacuum salesman while her children slept in another room. The man turned out to have a prior conviction which the company failed to find because it did not run a background check. The woman sued the vacuum company, and the Texas Supreme Court sided with the victim — but Abbott, the ad notes, dissented, writing that Kirby "owed no duty" to the woman.
It's a dark missile of an ad, made more controversial by the fact that the Davis camp admitted on Friday that it had not spoken to the victim before releasing the spot, notes the Houston Chronicle. While some political analysts said the risk could pay off, especially in a "long-shot campaign," others were less than impressed, and Abbott's camp immediately decried the ad, calling the move "gutter politics."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Decide for yourself after watching the minute-long spot, below. --Sarah Eberspacher
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in Oregon
Speed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoff
Speed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsion
Speed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot