TX-24: Texas moms running for Congress overcome the obstacles
When a group of friends suggested to Candace Valenzuela in 2018 that she should run for the Democratic ticket for Texas' 24th Congressional District, she almost choked on her Korean food.
Valenzuela dismissed their suggestion almost right away. She was “very pregnant,” just three weeks from giving birth to her now-20-month-old son. She was worried about the high maternal mortality rate for Black mothers and “for the love of God, will I fit into one of my husband’s T-shirts tomorrow?”
Running for a congressional seat was the last thing on her mind.
And if she did, what about her children? Her oldest son would be a toddler by the time she’d start campaigning for the 2020 election, and her baby, just a few months old. The burden of care was going to undoubtedly fall on her husband, Andy. But he didn’t find the suggestion as preposterous as his wife did.
“This is what you were meant to do,” he said. “... We’ll talk to the family. We’ll try to make this work.”
And that’s what they did. When the COVID-19 pandemic started, they made it work. When the stay-at-home orders started, they made it work. When the pandemic persisted, they made it work.
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2020/10/14/from-raising-kids-to-raising-campaign-funds-texas-moms-running-for-congress-overcome-the-obstacles/