An 11-hour filibuster. A bold stand for women in a red state. Those pink tennis shoes. Wendy Davis is an American icon, and she's the candidate we endorse in the race for governor of Texas.
Davis is on the right side of the interests of a broad range of people in an increasingly diverse state. She supports raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, an important issue in the state with the most minimum wage workers in the country — nearly half a million Texans make $7.25 cents an hour or less, most of them women. Davis also supports marriage equality, an issue making its way through the courts now as two Texas coupleschallenge the state's ban on same-sex marriage. Her opponent, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, defended the state's decision to refuse marriage rights to same-sex couples.
A pro-choice governor like Davis would also make an enormous difference for Texas women. Texas is home to some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country, which Davis famously filibustered and which passed despite her efforts. Now, women in the state are turning to illegal and potentially unsafe methods of abortion. Texas also slashed family planning funding, making it more difficult for women to prevent unintended pregnancies. As a result, the Texas taxpayers may be out hundreds of millions of dollars in additional Medicaid costs. The restrictions have been a financial and health care disaster for Texas, and yet Abbott continues to defend them in court. Abbott himself believes abortion should be outlawed in nearly all cases, including for rape and incest victims, and his spokesperson referred to abortion under those circumstances as "minor issues." Davis has lived one of those issues that, because it's fairly rare, may be characterized as "minor": She terminated a wanted pregnancy because the fetus had severe abnormalities. Her filibuster illustrates her dedication to the rights of women to make safe, private decisions about reproduction with their families and doctors.
Davis also supports equal pay for equal work legislation that Texas's current governor, Rick Perry, vetoed. Abbott said he would have vetoed it too, "because wage discrimination is already against the law and because legal avenues already exist for victims of discrimination." Male lawyers in Abbott's attorney general officemake an average of $6,000 more a yearthan their female counterparts, and Texas Republicans seems to think the gender pay gap is no big deal: One conservative PAC leader said women don't fight for equal pay because they're "too busy," while the executive director of the Texas GOP said, "Men are better negotiators," and, "I would encourage women, instead of pursuing the courts for action, to become better negotiators."
Education is also a cornerstone of Davis's platform and is something she credits for her own success, telling Cosmopolitan.com, "I would give that advice to any person facing the same kind of challenges I faced: If they have the opportunity to put their foot on the path of education, put it there." To make her path a reality for more Texans, Davis supports increasing funding for Texas schools. Abbott defended the decision to slash $5.4 billion for public education.
Though still a red state, Texas is creeping into the purple, driven by more Hispanic voters and younger progressives. A Davis governorship would represent all Texans, including those who are traditionally underserved by Austin, setting the state on the road to restoring basic women's health care and ensuring that the children women do choose to have are cared for.
Wendy Davis isn't just one of Texas's biggest political names; she's a role model for the many who work to build a big life from a difficult place and an icon who not only stands up for what's right, but knows when taking a stand means standing for the long haul. We hope voters in November turn out for her, so we can all see her walk through the doors of the state's highest executive office in 2015.
This is part of Cosmopolitan.com's midterm election coverage. Share this article with #CosmoVotes and #CosmoVotesTX and make sure to vote on November 4. Find out how to register in your home state here.
