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Veteran Democrat May Run For Lieutenant Governor

Shelley Kofler
/
KERA News

State Senator Leticia Van de Putte, from San Antonio, says she may join likely gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis on the statewide Democratic ticket as a candidate for lieutenant governor.

  “I have six children and six grandchildren,” she told an audience at the Texas Tribune policy conference this weekend. 

“This state needs better leadership, not just because of my kids but because of everybody’s grand kids and I don’t see it.  And that’s what’s going to compel me to throw my hat in,” she said.

Van de Putte said recent family tragedies including the deaths of an infant grandchild and her father are factors in her decision.

Van De Putte, 58, has been in the Texas Senate since 1999.  She chairs the Veteran Affairs Committee, has worked on curbing the student drop out rate and was on the floor with Davis during the senator’s famed filibuster. 

Former KERA staffer Shelley Kofler was news director, managing editor and senior reporter. She is an award-winning reporter and television producer who previously served as the Austin bureau chief and legislative reporter for North Texas ABC affiliate WFAA-TV.