HOUSTON – Democratic candidate Wendy Davis stopped by Local 2 studios for an interview with Courtney Zavala.
"It was a tough decision of course, but ultimately I wanted to run for this position, run for the next governor of Texas because Texas is looking for a new voice," Davis said.
The seasoned politician started her career in 1999 as a council member and has been serving the state senate since 2008.
However, life wasn't always easy. Davis was raised by a single mother who dropped out of school in the sixth grade. Davis was married at 18 and had her first daughter. A year later, she was divorced. A single mom living in a trailer park.
Davis was the first in her family to graduate from college with a law degree from Harvard University.
"When you come up through struggle, number one I think you learn to fight. You learn to work hard and you learn to find success for yourself," Davis said.
Senator Davis found herself in the state and national spotlight earlier this year after an 11 hour filibuster protesting a bill that would ban abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy," Davis said.
"Are you afraid people will see you for that one issue?" Zavala asked,
"I'm not because I have a strong record of fighting for people across a number of issues. I'm a leader on consumer reform, insurance reform. I've also served on the veterans affairs committee," Davis said.
Davis says a lesser known filibuster in 2011 shows she fights and stands for what she believes in.
"I filibustered a bill that was planning to cut five and a half billion from our public schools, it didn't receive that kind of attention I wish that it would have," Davis said.
She is running against attorney general Greg Abbott, someone with a name recognition and deep pockets with a $20 million head start in fundraising.
"I'm thrilled, thousands have contributed small dollar donations to this campaign, which is evidence that people are hungry," Davis said.
Senator Davis is also working with Mayor Annise Parker on a bill she sponsored to help backlogged sexual assault cases processed and entered into a data base to help solve more than 20,000 cases state wide.