State Senate hopeful who went into labor during convention speech wins primary race

After going into labor and losing endorsement, Erin Maye Quade wins primary

After her bid to secure her party's endorsement ended early last April when she went into labor at the Minnesota DFL's connection, Erin Maye Quade won the primary election for State Senate.

BURNSVILLE, Minn. (FOX 9) - Video of Erin Maye-Quade going into labor during the DFL convention this past spring made national headlines, and Tuesday night - with her baby in her arms - she won her primary race.

The former state representative, who is vying to represent District 56 in the state Senate, beat DFL endorsed candidate Justin Emmerich by a nearly 30-point margin. She will face Republican candidate Jim Bean in November.

"The win was reflective of this community and it took all of us to get here, it really wasn’t one person," said Maye-Quade. "Now we have to go talk to even more voters and resonate with them."

Maye-Quade left the DFL convention early this past April because she was in labor. Video of her giving a speech while enduring contractions went viral, prompting questions about why the convention was not suspended.

"I think the further away we get from it there was an incredible lack of humanity broadly," she said. "Now that we have perspective, I hope we don’t do that again."

State senate candidate leaves convention to give birth; opponent wins

A DFL state senate struggled through her speech at the party’s convention as she went into a contraction. The moment, filmed by people in the crowd, has inspired some observers who see it as an example of the strength required to overcome the unique challenges women often face in their careers, but it also left many wondering whether the convention should have been paused or postponed for her health. Former state rep Erin Maye Quade lost the first round of ballots for the DFL endorsement and then withdrew as she went to the hospital. Her opponent, Justin Emmerich, won the first round, 91-47, and then won the second round unopposed.

Along with breast feeding and adjusting to motherhood, Maye-Quade was re-hospitalized a week after giving birth due to post-partum preeclampsia. Despite all that, she started door knocking a month after being discharged from the hospital.

She says she believes her story has resonated with mothers in her district, who helped her pull off a primary win.

"I think it really galvanized voters in this district around wanting to be a part of this campaign," she said.

The state senate hopeful said it was incredibly meaningful to her to have her daughter with her when the results came in Tuesday.

"So much of this is for her and her generation and for the future we want for our kids so just having her in our arms and knowing we did it was just amazing," she said.