Wendy Davis to join President Obama at civil rights program next month in Texas

Democrat Wendy Davis says when Barack Obama visits Austin next month for a symposium on civil rights, she won’t avoid a joint appearance with the president like some candidates in her party. “I’m definitely planning on being at the celebration,” Davis said Thursday of the upcoming gathering at the LBJ Presidential Library. “I’m excited about greeting our president there, and our former presidents.”

Some vulnerable lawmakers, including those in Louisiana and North Carolina, have avoided the president in states where his policies on health care and other matters aren’t popular. Obama himself raised the politically sensitive issue during a recent meeting of the Senate Democratic conference, offering to stay away in cases where being seen with him might harm a candidate’s reelection prospects. Obama plans to attend the Civil Rights Summit in April in Austin along with former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

Davis will face Republican Greg Abbott in November in a race for governor. Abbott has played up Obama’s tepid popularity in Texas and reminded voters his job as attorney general includes suing the Obama administration over health care and environmental policies.

In winning the Democratic nomination in Tuesday’s primary, Davis trailed a Democratic opponent with a Hispanic surname in several South Texas counties. Davis’ political team needs a strong turnout by Latino voters to win her uphill battle against Abbott in the fall. “I am very confident that by the time we get to November and given the contrast between the two candidates, I’ll have the full support of South Texas and beyond South Texas,” she said in an interview sponsored by the Texas Tribune.

More at http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2014/03/wendy-davis-will-join-president-obama-at-civil-rights-program-next-month-in-texas.html/ .