Texas gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis has been unfailing in her pursuit of Republican opponent Greg Abbott following the allegations that Abbott underpays his female employees and for voicing his opposition to easing measures that would pressure employers or businesses to pay women equal wages.

"This Texas gal is calling you out!" Davis firmly said to a crowd of 160 onlookers at Austin's iconic Scholz's Beer Garden. Then, at a later date, Davis made other demands, hoping to draw Abbott out, "Stop hiding behind your surrogates" and "Act like a Texan and answer this question for yourself: What on earth is going on at your Attorney General's Office?"

"Women in Greg Abbott's office earn only 74 cents on the dollar compared to men," Davis said in her speech. "That's even worse than the state average."

Abbott's campaign spokesman Matt Hirsch responded with a statement last week suggesting that Abbott supports equal pay, and that he'd enforce pay equality as governor.

Gov. Rick Perry (R) vetoed the Texas version of the Lilly LedbetterFair Pay Act, which would have provided easier access to a cheaper and faster state court system. The bill had bipartisan support but ultimately failed due to Perry's veto.

Last week, the Abbott campaign expressed support for Perry's decision, and Abbott remarked that he would have done the same. Republican groups defended the veto, with some saying women were "too busy" to fight against inequality and men were paid more due to the fact that men were "better negotiators" than women. Davis rebuked this statement, proclaiming that women were not too busy to fight against inequality.

"We are not too 'busy' to vote this fall," Davis said. "And I can assure you -- that if I am elected governor, I will definitely not be too 'busy' to sign the Texas Equal Pay Act the minute it hits my desk."

Yet another response to Davis's outspokenness regarding Abbott's position was an attack on Davis and her law firm. By taking work as bond attorneys for various public entities, Abbott claimed that Davis faced a conflict of interest for holding public office while earning funds as a private attorney from public-issued bonds.

However, Abbott failed to respond to concerns raised by Davis over the San Antonio Express-News story that showed payment discrepancies among assistant attorneys generals due to gender. Abbott's office pays female assistant attorneys general $6,000 less, on average, than men in the same position. That discovery launched Davis down an equality warpath, while Abbott resigned himself to defensiveness.

"Facing mounting questions about her dubious ethics, Sen. Davis admitted this morning that she continues to profit off Texas public debt by serving as legal counsel for multiple public bond offerings," said Hirsch. "However, she continues to refuse to disclose to Texans how much she made from taxpayer-funded contracts while profiting off state debt, when she will stop working for her public clients as promised and when she will release her full client list. Texas voters deserve transparency."

Davis has said that her responsibility to her clients has no bounds, and that she works tirelessly to campaign for governor, even reducing her legal work to a minimum in order to do so. She also has said that she is open and transparent when it comes to her income and identifying her public-identity clients. Nonetheless, the Abbott campaign has requested that she also release a list of her private clients to assure the public that there are no conflicts between her legal work and her public stances.

Texas women are paid only 79 cents on the dollar compared to men. It's far worse for Hispanic women, who earn only 45 cents on the dollar compared to men. Davis has reiterated her commitment to equal pay legislation and continues to point out the payment inequality in Abbott's office while defending herself from counter-allegations.

Correction: An earlier version of this article attributed remarks defending Rick Perry's veto to Greg Abbott. They were actually made by Cari Christman, the executive director of Red State Women PAC, and Texas GOP executive director Beth Cubriel.