HOUSTON, Texas — Texas state senator and gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis has come under intense scrutiny this week for airing a controversial ad attacking her opponent, Attorney General Greg Abbott. In the commercial, Davis asserts that Abbott did not side with a rape victim while he was a judge in the early 1990’s. Despite receiving plenty of negative feedback from the ad, Davis is apparently vehemently defending it.
“His record demonstrates that he sided with a corporation against a victim of sexual assault. Texans deserve to know who is asking for the privilege of serving as their next governor,” Davis reportedly said at a press conference in Dallas.
Amid ominous music, Davis’ ad tells the story of a woman who was raped in her home by a vacuum salesman. The woman and her husband subsequently filed a lawsuit, and by a 6-3 vote, the Texas Supreme Court ruled in their favor. Justice Greg Abbott was on the dissenting side.
As Breitbart Texas previously reported, Abbott wrote in his opinion that the vacuum company, Kirby Co., had no control over “who was to perform that work.”
The ad received a significant number of negative responses, from opponents and supports alike.
“Such a campaign doesn’t seem in keeping with the Wendy Davis in red running shoes who filibustered her way after 13 hours to national publicity and an image as an up-and-coming Democratic star. She made us believe she had guts and grit and determination — and that she was better than the run-of-the-mill politician,” Diana Reese wrote for the Washington Post. “Her star has faded in the year since then.”
In a statement provided to Breitbart Texas, a spokeswoman from Abbott’s campaign called the commercial “despicable” and “desperate.”
Davis is desperately attempting to brand herself as standing for “hardworking Texas” and their struggles, according to the Dallas Morning News. This attempted message may be an effort to draw attention away from the fact that a great deal of Davis’ funding has come from donors outside of Texas.
As Breitbart Texas has chronicled over the last several months, Davis has raked in cash from high-profile donors in blue cities like Chicago and Los Angeles. In May Hollywood A-listers J.J. Abrams, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Steven Spielberg even hosted a fundraising event for Davis. Guests were charged $1,000 at the door of the soiree.
Abbott, on the other hand, has received 95 percent of his funding from Texans.
Texans for Greg Abbott Campaign Manager Wayne Hamilton said in a statement, “The strength of this campaign builds each day, and we continue to be overwhelmed by the support we’re receiving from across Texas.”
Follow Kristin Tate on Twitter @KristinBTate.
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