A Minnesota politician didn’t let going into labor stop her from delivering a convention speech over the weekend.
Erin Maye Quade, an out lesbian and Democrat running for a seat in the Minnesota state senate, went into labor hours before the District 56 convention on Saturday, where she was hoping to secure her party’s endorsement. Rather than withdraw immediately, Maye Quade fought through contractions as she delivered her convention speech, and remained on the floor for a Q&A session with her fellow candidates.
Maye Quade’s campaign manager Mitchell Walstad told USA Today that he didn’t “know if she was going to make it to the convention at all,” adding that during the convention, the campaign sequestered Maye Quade in a room “to let her have contractions privately” before letting her return to the floor to speak in 10-15 minute intervals “if she possibly could.”
A video of Maye Quade’s speech has received over 57K views on Twitter.
“So believe me when I tell you, this our moment to build our future together, to unlock the powerful, life-affirming, transformative kind of politics that means we can help achieve safe and sustainable communities, create economic opportunity and prosperity, and safeguard our civil and human rights,” the candidate says, before pausing for a contraction while the audience cheers her on.
Today in Minnesota, @ErinMayeQuade gave a convention speech while in active labor. And her opponent didn’t think to ask to postpone the convention as she, you know, had to go to the hospital to deliver her baby. What the hell. pic.twitter.com/Wmu5fh40I6
— ashley fairbanks (@ziibiing) April 24, 2022
Maye Quade did eventually withdraw from the endorsement process so that she could go to the hospital. The endorsement ended up going to a competitor, although Maye Quade can still run in the August 9 primary.
If elected, Maye Quade would be the first out lesbian, and the first Black woman, to be elected to the Minnesota Senate, according to her campaign’s website.
Maye Quade gave birth on Sunday to her and her wife, Alyse’s, first child, a girl nicknamed Hattie.
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The incident highlights numerous social issues, including expectations for women in both politics and the workforce and, more specifically, the expectations placed on new or expecting mothers.
In a statement to TODAY regarding Maye Quade, Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), the first U.S. Senator to give birth while in office, said that “Moms are real superheroes – juggling everything from work, to kids to home life and beyond.”
She added, “We should be doing all we can to provide them with the support they deserve, like affordable childcare and universal paid family leave.”
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