49 percent of Texas women prefer Wendy Davis' opponent to her
Win McNamee/Getty Images


Texas State Sen. Wendy Davis (D) was always a long shot to become the Lone Star State's next governor, and a new PPP poll casts even more doubt on her odds of pulling a stunning upset.
In the survey, Davis trails Attorney General Greg Abbott (R) by a daunting 51 percent to 37 percent split. As if that weren't bad enough, Davis also trails Abbott among female respondents; 49 percent of women say they prefer Abbott, while 41 percent pick Davis. Meanwhile, only one-third of female respondents say they have a favorable impression of Davis.
Those findings are surprising given that Davis rose to national prominence by championing reproductive rights and staging a filibuster of a restrictive abortion bill. Indeed, when Davis first got in the race, many on the left were optimistic her sudden fame would help her at least run competitively, if not win.
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.
Yet Davis' campaign was met not with resounding support, but rather with a little kerfuffle over how she'd embellished her biography. Perhaps as a result, 47 percent of voters view her unfavorably, up from just 29 percent in November.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.
-
Will California’s Proposition 50 kill gerrymandering reform?
Talking Points Or is opposing Trump the greater priority for voters?
-
‘The trickle of shutdowns could soon become a flood’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Wikipedia: Is ‘neutrality’ still possible?
Feature Wikipedia struggles to stay neutral as conservatives accuse the site of being left-leaning
-
Trump demands millions from his administration
Speed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
-
Trump nominee in limbo after racist texts leak
Speed Read Paul Ingrassia lost Republican support following the exposure of past racist text messages
-
Trump begins East Wing demolition for ballroom
speed read The president’s new construction will cost $250 million
-
Appeals court clears Trump’s Portland troop deployment
Speed Read A divided federal appeals court ruled that President Trump can send the National Guard to Portland
-
Millions turn out for anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ rallies
Speed Read An estimated 7 million people participated, 2 million more than at the first ‘No Kings’ protest in June
-
DOJ indicts John Bolton over classified files
Speed Read Continuing the trend of going after his political enemies, Trump prosecutes his former national security adviser
-
Trump, Putin set summit as Zelenskyy lands in DC
Speed Read Trump and Putin have agreed to meet in Budapest soon to discuss ending the war in Ukraine
-
Courts deal setbacks to Trump’s Chicago operations
Speed Read President Donald Trump cannot deploy the National Guard in Illinois