AUSTIN – Democratic Sen. Wendy Davis wants licensed Texans to be able to openly carry handguns, a position that could help her strike back against opponents in her race for governor who paint her as anti-gun.

Davis told the Associated Press that she supports a proposed “open carry” law that would allow people with concealed handgun licenses to openly wear pistols in public.

She doesn’t have a concealed handgun permit herself, her campaign spokesman, Bo Delp, told me. She has said she is a gun owner.

Her position puts her in line on open carry with Attorney General Greg Abbott as they look toward the general-election battle for governor. Each is expected to get the party nod for the post March 4.

Abbott’s campaign has accused Davis of wanting to bring “Bloomberg-style gun control to Texas.” His campaign in part has pointed to her support, as a Fort Worth City Council member, for buyer background checks at gun shows at city facilities, and her assertion to the Texas Tribune last year that she still thought that was the right thing.

Her campaign spokeswoman Rebecca Acuña last year told PolitiFact Texas that Davis wants to safeguard gun rights “for honest citizens by assuring that they are kept out of the hands of criminals.”

Under current Texas law, people can get a license to carry a concealed handgun. They can carry rifles openly if not done in a threatening way.

Abbott campaign spokesman Avdiel Huerta said, “Sen. Wendy Davis’ new pro-gun stance may help improve her low grade with the NRA, but it won’t help her be a straight shooter when it comes to the facts of her anti-gun record.”