* Davis trailing Republican rival as state party meets
* "Battleground Texas" group aims to mobilize non-voters
DALLAS, June 29 (Reuters) - For one day a year ago, Wendy Davis became the brightest star in the U.S. political universe when she donned pink tennis shoes and launched a one-woman, 10-hour filibuster against abortion restrictions that brought her international attention.
Now she is battling to revive a seemingly stalled campaign to become the first Democratic Texas governor in more than 20 years by winning over frustrated Republicans and motivating enough voters who would otherwise spend election day at home to find a few minutes to vote.
State Senator Davis, 51, came into the Texas Democratic convention in Dallas over the weekend with surveys showing her 10-13 percent points behind the Republican nominee, Attorney General Greg Abbott, 56, and failing to close ground.
Davis, with an inspiring life story going from a single mother in a trailer park to a Harvard Law School graduate, has portrayed Abbott as part of a 'good old boys' network more interested in enriching each other than helping voters.
"I'm running because there's a moderate majority that's being ignored - commonsense, practical, hardworking Texans whose voices are being drowned out by insiders in Greg Abbott's party, and it needs to stop," she told the convention on Friday.
But as Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University in Houston, said: "Texas is difficult terrain for any Democrat, let alone a Democrat who rose to prominence on an issue such as abortion that is associated with the liberal wing of the Democratic Party."
Davis, who this month reshuffled campaign brass, has also taken hits when it was found she embellished parts of her biography.
Despite this, she remains a prominent candidate who can raise funds among major donors in Hollywood and Washington, D.C.
For her staunchest supporters, the key to victory rests with Texans being targeted in one of the largest, state-wide grassroots campaigns in U.S. political history.
Alumni from President Barack Obama's 2012 campaign quietly have built a Democratic political army in Texas, where gun-rights advocates brandish semi-automatic rifles on city streets and pickup trucks bear "SECEDE" bumper stickers.
The group called Battleground Texas, started about a year and a half ago, has enlisted about 20,000 volunteers who have made 2 million phone calls and house visits among voters.
"People are hungry. They see the opportunity and they want to take it," said Jenn Brown, the group's executive director.
In a state as large as Texas, adding a few percentage points with groups that typically favor Democrats but have not turned out in high numbers could mean all the difference.
According to a poll by survey group Latino Decisions, 39 percent of eligible Hispanics cast ballots in the November 2012 election in Texas, while 61 percent stayed home. The numbers were almost reversed for non-Hispanic whites.
By 2030 Latinos, who typically support Democrats, will be the majority in Texas and could turn the state blue. Texas could then join populous California and New York among Democratic strongholds, with the three states securing the party nearly half the electoral votes needed to win the White House.
Democrats have also become emboldened by the strength of U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and his no-compromise tea party allies, seeing them as driving moderate Republicans into their tent and antagonizing Hispanic voters with their hardline stance on immigration.
"We have seen Republicans consistently move further to the right and as they are excluding people from the promise of Texas, our job is to speed up those changes," said Will Hailer, executive director of the Texas Democratic Party. (Additional reporting by Marice Richter; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.