* Attack ads and more attack ads. Right now, Davis has her share of both fans and critics. But there is not a full-scale war to defeat her like there would be if she was a candidate for governor. Abbott’s millions of dollars have to go somewhere, and it’s a good bet that a healthy sum would be spent on ads brutalizing Davis’s image. At the end of what would likely be a losing campaign, Davis would no longer have her state Senate platform, and her image would no doubt have taken a hit. It’s potentially a high price to pay.

* Davis’s district is safe from a GOP push to reshape it. Davis won big earlier this year when a Republican push to reshape her district came to an end. Democrats now think they can compete there, even without her (though it would unquestionably be more difficult). On the one hand, that means it’s okay for Davis to run for governor without Democrats having to automatically cough up her seat. On the other, it means if Davis declines to run for governor, she can run for reelection on friendly terrain. If she wins, she will continue to have her platform in the state Senate as she looks for a favorable opportunity to move up the ladder in the future. It’s not a bad position to be in, especially when the alternative is the wrong side of a fight with Abbott.