First lady backs Wendy Davis

First lady Michelle Obama is backing embattled Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis.

Obama in a minutelong ad praises Davis for leading “the fight against the devastating education cuts in Texas” and supporting universal pre-K.

{mosads}She also hails Davis’s support for expanding Medicaid and raising the minimum wage, and notes that Davis became a mother at 19 years old but later went on to get an Ivy League education. 

“On Nov. 4, you have a real chance to make a difference for our children,” Obama says.

Davis is under fire in Texas for a recent ad that accused her opponent, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, of hypocrisy on personal injury lawsuit reforms that highlights that he is confined to a wheelchair.

A Rasmussen poll released earlier this month showed Abbott with a 51percent-40 percent lead over Davis, who became a Democratic hero for a filibuster in support of abortion rights.

The first lady has been aggressive in campaigning for Democratic gubernatorial candidates, appearing in recent weeks at events in Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Massachusetts and Maine.