Minnesota state Senate candidate Erin Maye Quade delivered a political speech during her party’s convention earlier this week while in active labor. Now stop, go back, and read that sentence again. Yep, this woman is a total boss.
During the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party’s District 56 convention, state Senate candidate Maye Quade began laboring prior to giving her speech. This woman was not only standing on her feet in a dress in front of dozens of people while nine months pregnant, she was doing it all and enduring contractions on top of it.
“So they broke the news that I’m in labor, yeah?” Maye Quade asked the audience when she got to the podium. She was met with some cheers and applause and laughter.
“This is 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 stable communities, create economic opportunity and prosperity and safeguard our civil and human rights, and strengthen our human and public infrastructure. Excuse me,” she said, pausing briefly to take a few deep breaths and grab her stomach. You know, because she was in LABOR.
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The audience cheered her on, because witnessing someone do something so tough, strong, and amazing is a great reason to burst into applause.
Shortly after she assured the audience by saying “I’m good!” before continuing with her speech.
While this is all well and good, it must be noted that her state Senate political opponent, Justin Emmerich won the coin toss to deliver his speech first. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn’t be a thing. But Maye Quade was in labor, he was made aware of it, and he decided not to let her deliver her speech first so she could, you know, go to the hospital to have her baby.
Erin Maye Quade ended up withdrawing from the endorsement convention due to being in labor, but her campaign manager Mitchell Walstad tells the Twin Cities Pioneer Press that she isn’t ruling out continuing her campaign and running in the August primary for Minnesota state Senate.
“It’s certainly a possibility. I haven’t asked her about it,” Walstad said. “I’m giving her the time and space to do the new mom thing.”
Related: Mom in labor walks to hospital on foot in viral TikTok after car breaks down
In the meantime, Maye Quade and her spouse, Alyse Maye Quade, welcomed Harriet Blake Maye Quade not long after the convention speech. Alyse shared her admiration for her wife’s strength during labor.
“Actually seeing the power and determination, push after push—I’ll never look at my wife the same again, she is so powerful.”
Congratulations to the Maye Quades and their family of three! She may not have been able to “win” her party’s endorsement, but she sure as heck won all of our hearts after that display of strength only a mama can have.