Wendy Davis, the former state senator from Texas and Democratic nominee for governor, is running for Congress, she announced Monday in a video posted to YouTube.
Davis will challenge Republican Rep. Chip Roy in Texas' 21st Congressional District.
"I'm running for Congress because people's voices are still being silenced," she said. "I'm running for our children and grandchildren, so they can live and love and fight for change themselves."
Davis, 56, became a national figure in 2013 after filibustering an anti-abortion bill in the statehouse. She ran for governor in 2014, but lost by more than 20 percentage points to Greg Abbott, then the state's attorney general.
Roy, 46, who previously served as a staffer to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, and to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, is known as an outspoken House freshman. Though the district is historically Republican, Roy's victory is far from assured. He was elected in 2018 by less than 3 percentage points.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee listed Texas' 21st District as one of its 33 targets for 2020. Meanwhile, National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Bob Salera called Davis' candidacy "beyond parody," saying Texans "resoundingly rejected" her 2014 gubernatorial bid.
