You can run for any office you want, as long as it’s Governor.
Sen. Wendy Davis
[State Sen. Wendy] Davis is under intense pressure from national Democratic leaders to seek statewide office in 2014. At two fundraising events Thursday, Davis didn’t speculate about her future. But she was accompanied by a VIP fan club.
At a morning $500 breakfast event at Johnny’s Half Shell, guests included Democratic Sens. Barbara Boxer of California, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Patty Murray of Washington and Mazie Hirono of Hawaii. In addition to [Rep. Mark] Veasey, Texas Reps. Pete Gallego of Alpine and Sheila Jackson Lee of Houston also turned out for the event.
Jackson Lee said while she would support Davis if she choose to run for governor, she didn’t want to “put Senator Davis on the spot.”
“She will make that decision, along with many others,” Jackson Lee said, adding that Davis’ actions this summer alone have energized grassroots Democrats.
This was at a big fundraiser for Davis in Washington, DC, where as you might imagine the attendees are more interested in supporting a candidate for Governor than a candidate for State Senate. On the matter of whether it might make more sense for Davis to run for Lieutenant Governor instead, the Trib quotes from the inaccessible Statesman story as follows:
Texas Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, swept through Washington on Thursday with a high-dollar breakfast fundraiser in the morning, and a lower-budget affair in the evening, amid indications that she isn’t considering a run for lieutenant governor as an alternative to a run for governor or re-election to the state Senate. Matt Angle, founder of the Democratic Lone Star Project, which conducted a Twitter town hall with Davis between fundraisers, said speculation that Davis might find the lieutenant governor’s office a more inviting target actually misses the point. If Davis were to be elected to preside over a mostly Republican Senate, that majority could use Senate rules to strip the lieutenant governor’s office of much of the power that would make it worth holding.
Those of us that have considered this question have in fact dealt with that possibility, and it is a factor. How much weight to assign it is anyone’s guess, as is the question of how much the influence of Rick Perry will linger beyond 2014. All I can say is that I hope Sen. Davis is getting as much objective, unbiased information as she can, and makes what she thinks will be the best decision for herself. I don’t envy her the task of sorting it all out. BOR has more.