Texas State Senator Wendy Davis was steamrolled in her bid to become the state’s next governor, and it appears that her staff believes Ebola has something to do with the failure of her campaign.
Speaking on behalf of Davis’ campaign, Communications Director Zac Petkanas told the Wall Street Journal, “The losses that you are seeing in very blue states are simply amplified in states like Texas where there is already a structural advantage for Republicans,” he said. The Journal added that, “Another challenge, [Petkanas] said, was that Texas was at the center of two issues — immigration and the Ebola scare — that helped drive Republican voters to the polls.”
Many Americans do remain concerned about Ebola entering the country from heavily-afflicted nations in West Africa. However, most analysts attribute Davis’ loss to a poorly-run campaign and inability to connect with Texas voters.
Davis lost her campaign by a significant margin to Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott.
The state senator entered the race as the mainstream media’s darling, following her 11 hour abortion filibuster. Despite earning more national attention than any other Texas Democrat in recent years, Davis earned significantly fewer votes than Democratic Houston Mayor Bill White, who ran for Texas Governor in 2010. Davis even appeared turned off constituents in her own district — her seat in the Texas Senate was won by Tea Party favorite Konni Burton.
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