Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst (R) is dismissing Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis (D) as a serious contender for higher office.
Delivering a speech to Republicans in Davis' hometown of Fort Worth on Tuesday, Dewhurst, said it was his "hope" for her to flop on a bigger stage.
“I know Wendy Davis,” he said, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “And I don’t think she stands a chance running for statewide office.”
As of two weeks ago, Davis still had her sights set on statewide office. In a mid-August appearance before a few hundred female activists and donors in San Francisco, she said she was "very, very seriously considering" a run for governor. But the decision would be contingent on the race being "a winnable one," the Los Angeles Times reported.
Davis emerged as a national figure in late June after her 11-hour filibuster helped defeat a controversial anti-abortion bill bringing severe cuts to services across the state. While a later version of the bill was signed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) in July, Davis continued to stand as a lead voice against the decision.
"When Governor Perry signed the bill, he signaled a clear break with Texas families," Davis said in a statement shortly after the bill was signed. "Governor Perry and other state leaders have now taken sides and chosen narrow partisan special interests over mothers, daughters, sisters and every Texan who puts the health of their family, the well-being of their neighbors, and the future of Texas ahead of politics and personal ambitions."