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| Who is Wendy Davis? | Who is Wendy Davis? |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The Texan state senator Wendy Davis, who took to her feet on Tuesday night and spoke for nearly 11 hours in an attempt to derail an anti-abortion vote, has previous form in filibustering. | |
| The 50-year-old Democrat last stymied Republican legislative plans by filibustering in May 2011 when she spoke for more than an hour. | The 50-year-old Democrat last stymied Republican legislative plans by filibustering in May 2011 when she spoke for more than an hour. |
| After that attempt the Texas governor and former presidential hopeful, Rick Perry, was forced to call a special session to keep his party's austerity finance bill in play and described her tactics as those of a show horse. | After that attempt the Texas governor and former presidential hopeful, Rick Perry, was forced to call a special session to keep his party's austerity finance bill in play and described her tactics as those of a show horse. |
| Davis's rise to national prominence this week was by no means assured. In a state dominated by Republicans, Davis barely scraped electoral victory in 2008 and then managed to fight off plans to re-zone her 10th district ward in a more conservative area in 2012. | Davis's rise to national prominence this week was by no means assured. In a state dominated by Republicans, Davis barely scraped electoral victory in 2008 and then managed to fight off plans to re-zone her 10th district ward in a more conservative area in 2012. |
| She is no stranger to struggle. Davis was working at age 14, selling subscriptions for her local newspaper and then selling juice drinks at an Orange Julius outlet in a shopping mall to support her single mother and three siblings. | She is no stranger to struggle. Davis was working at age 14, selling subscriptions for her local newspaper and then selling juice drinks at an Orange Julius outlet in a shopping mall to support her single mother and three siblings. |
| By 19 she was divorced and raising the first of her two daughters in a trailer park. Despite this, she went on to graduate first in her class at Texas Christian University and then won entry to Harvard Law, commuting between Fort Worth and Boston for three years. | |
| She then acted as a clerk, and eventually launched her own practice for federal and local government affairs and real estate. | She then acted as a clerk, and eventually launched her own practice for federal and local government affairs and real estate. |
| With an interest in running and cycling, and wearing pink trainers, Davis was well-prepared to stand and talk for hours on end – official rules do not allow those who filibuster to sit, take rest or toilet breaks, or lean on furniture for support. | With an interest in running and cycling, and wearing pink trainers, Davis was well-prepared to stand and talk for hours on end – official rules do not allow those who filibuster to sit, take rest or toilet breaks, or lean on furniture for support. |
| Her epic filibuster attracted wide support on Twitter, where supporters used the hashtag #standwithwendy. Within hours, her Twitter followers had surged from 1,200 to more than 57,000. | |
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