Wendy Davis, Texas state senator and Democratic gubernatorial candidate, will be on campus Wednesday to give her take on education and the importance of young people voting.
The visit is part of her Five City Rally Across Texas event and is associated with her campaign for governor.
The Texas Aggie Democrats will host Davis during her time on campus. Rebecca Young, the group’s programs officer, said Davis likely chose to visit colleges in part because of low voter turnout among 18-25-year-olds.
“We have a very poor record as a demographic for turning out at the polls,” Young said. “Pollsters are tracking the demographics of people who are turning out to vote and that informs the politicians of the issues all parties are going to pay attention to.”
When voter turnout is low, Young said, politicians tend to focus on the issues that concern demographics that vote more frequently. This can lead to politicians ignoring issues that are particularly important to students.
“Things like student loans and education and all of those issues are not as prominently addressed,” Young said.
Young said Davis finds supports from and stands up for many Texans who are traditionally disadvantaged, including minorities, woman and those who are LGBT-identified.
Texas Aggie Republicans said in a written statement that they hope the student body welcomes Davis.
“We are happy that Senator Davis is coming to Texas A&M and we are also confident that her presentation will further validate the Republican message,” the statement said.
For some, Davis’ presentation is the opportunity to promote other issues. Carly Burke, president of Pro-Life Aggies, said while she will not attend the senator’s presentation, she will be present around the event.
“I will not be seeing her speak and have not encouraged any of the Pro-Life Aggies members to do so,” Burke said. “However, I plan on peacefully exposing her stance on abortion during that time outside of Rudder … as I don’t anticipate that being something she focuses on during her visit to Texas A&M.”
Paul Dutton, Young Americans for Liberty vice president, said Davis’ trip is exciting for his organization. For him and his fellow Libertarians, the more viewpoints, the better.
“While her stance on many contemporary social issues such as supporting same sex marriage, medical marijuana licensing and helping to create access to safe, legal abortions for women are certainly things we can agree with, we still have severe reservations on her plans to expand government into our lives in the economic sphere via educational expansion and a generally bigger government philosophy,” Dutton said.
Davis will speak at 4 p.m. in Rudder Exhibit Hall. Admission is free.