Bucking many in her own party — including President Obama — Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis expressed her support for a commercial travel ban from Ebola-stricken nations in West Africa.
“With two Texans already infected by this terrible disease, we must do everything we can as a state and as a nation to ensure it remains contained and that families stay safe,” she wrote on Friday. “A commonsense step that should be on the table includes a temporary travel ban for non-U.S. citizens from countries with high infection rates.”
The statement comes just hours after Texas governor Rick Perry urged a ban on airliners flying from the West African nations of Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and other potentially at-risk nations. Davis’s Republican opponent, Texas attorney general Greg Abbott, tweeted his support around one hour before she weighed in.
Davis joins Democratic North Carolina Senate candidate Kay Hagan, who also called for President Obama to implement a travel ban on Friday. Hagan had opposed such restrictions just two days earlier.
Even the White House is showing signs it may be budging on restricting West Africa flights. After claiming a ban was “off the table” on Wednesday, the White House press secretary reversed himself on Friday, saying it was “on the table,” if not yet being actively considered. And President Obama said on Thursday he had no “philosophical opposition” to a ban.