Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis' rise from a teenage single mother living in a trailer park to Harvard Law School is a centerpiece of her long-shot campaign for Texas governor.
But new reports have raised questions about some details of her personal narrative.
The Dallas Morning news reported this weekend that Davis was 21 -- not 19 -- when her first marriage ended in divorce. Also, she and her daughter only lived a few months in her family's mobile home.
Things then got easier financially when she met and married her second husband, attorney Jeff Davis. His income helped pay for her to attend Harvard.
And now, there are hints Davis' mother may have attended some high school. That contradicts Davis' past statements she dropped out in the 6th grade.
On Monday afternoon, Davis' campaign issued the following statement in defense of the reports and statements made against her.
"We’re not surprised by Greg Abbott’s campaign attacks on the personal story of my life as a single mother who worked hard to get ahead. But they won’t work, because my story is the story of millions of Texas women who know the strength it takes when you’re young, alone and a mother. I’ve always been open about my life not because my story is unique, but because it isn’t. The truth is that at age 19, I was a teenage mother living alone with my daughter in a trailer and struggling to keep us afloat on my way to a divorce. And I knew then that I was going to have to work my way up and out of that life if I was going to give my daughter a better life and a better future and that’s what I’ve done. I am proud of where I came from and I am proud of what I’ve been able to achieve through hard work and perseverance. And I guarantee you that anyone who tries to say otherwise hasn’t walked a day in my shoes."
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Abbott's campaign responded to the report, partially, by saying.
"It's disappointing that a candidate would so cavalierly deceive voters about the most basic aspects of their life.."
