49 percent of Texas women prefer Wendy Davis' opponent to her

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.

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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.