Wendy Davis going beyond Texas for campaign bucks
By PAUL J. WEBER, Associated Press
Jun 16, 2014 12:10 AM CDT
File - In this June 26, 2013 file photo, Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, left, celebrates as time runs out on an abortion bill, in Austin, Texas. Davis' compelling personal story of rising from a trailer park to Harvard Law has reeled in donors. She now has financial backers in every U.S. state. (AP...   (Associated Press)

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Democrat Wendy Davis is raising money coast-to-coast in her run for Texas governor while trying to close the gap her against heavily favored Republican Greg Abbott.

Davis has been a fundraising dynamo since her nearly 13-hour filibuster over abortion restrictions last summer. Her campaign claims a whopping 133,000 donors and at least $16 million in contributions.

That has the Fort Worth state lawmaker keeping pace with Abbott, who has made an issue of her far-flung donors. More than one in every four dollars to Davis has come from out of state — a fundraising reach that few Texas Democrats have ever pulled off.

But it's unclear whether the cash will be enough to help Davis stay competitive. Texas hasn't elected a Democrat to a statewide office in 20 years.

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