RALEIGH, N.C., July 3 (UPI) -- Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis' filibustering of a sweeping abortion bill raised her profile in the Lone Star state, a Public Policy Polling survey indicated.
Davis, whose 11-hour filibuster blocked passage of the bill that would have, among other things, banned abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, now is the best-liked figure statewide, and third-best-known after Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, both Republicans, the polling agency said Tuesday in the release.
However, the Democrat's standing in a hypothetical match-up with Perry slipped during the last five months, primarily because of Perry's own improvement among Texas voters.
Thirty-nine percent said they have a favorable opinion of Davis and 29 percent said they had an unfavorable one, the Raleigh, N.C., polling agency said.
Davis trails Perry, 53 percent to 39 percent, the PPP said.
Voters narrowly approved of her use of the filibuster, 45 percent saying they supported it and 40 percent saying they opposed it. By a 28 percent to 20 percent margin, voters also indicated they disliked the abortion bill being considered in a second special legislative session after it failed to pass in a special session in June.
PPP surveyed 500 Texas voters Friday through Monday. The margin of error is 4.4 percentage points.
