Former Texas gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis, who became a national star after she filibustered Texas’ omnibus abortion bill in 2013, is starting a new women’s organization based in Texas, msnbc has learned.
“I’m in the process of starting a new women’s initiative that I hope will help create some movement building around the country, particularly with young women,” Davis told msnbc after a speech at the American Constitution Society’s annual convention on Friday.
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The former state senator has kept a relatively low profile since her loss by a wide margin to now-Gov. Greg Abbott, but this week she has resurfaced in progressive circles, including with a speech at a summit hosted by the Center for Reproductive Rights Thursday.
Asked if the new initiative would be focused on reproductive rights, the cause that catapulted her to the national stage, Davis said it would be “focused on productive rights, rights that will help women realize the opportunities that they would like to achieve. And that, of course, is a number of things, including reproductive rights.” She said the plan was to launch within “the next month or two.”
Will Davis ever run for office again? “I don’t know,” she replied. “What I know is that I have a passion for the issues that I care about and, as long as I’m working on them, I’ll be happy.”
Davis’ Friday speech was delivered to the gathering of progressive lawyers focused on voting rights as well as reproductive rights.
