Democrat MJ Hegar is running for Congress in Texas. Here's what you need to know.

Paulina Cachero
MJ Hegar, Combat Veteran and Author
MJ Hegar, Combat Veteran and Author

During her third tour in Afghanistan, Air National Guard pilot Mary Jennings Hegar found herself caught in the crossfire after her Blackhawk helicopter was shot down, leaving her bloody with shrapnel from the windshield embedded in her arm and leg. Still, Hegar stood her ground.

"I raised my rifle and started returning fire without any hesitation," recalls Hegar of the 2009 search and rescue mission during which she led a convoy to safety amid the attack and earned a Purple Heart for her efforts. "I have that warrior spirit, and it came out."

That warrior spirit emerged again in 2012 when she filed suit against the U.S. Secretary of Defense, claiming she had limited opportunities to serve in the U.S. military due to the combat exclusion policy which prevented women from serving alongside men in active war zones. Again Hegar stood her ground—and won.

"When people tell me that women shouldn't be in combat because they'll never be accepted into the band of brothers, I think about that [mission]," Hegar tells MAKERS in an exclusive interview. "The fact that I had been a proven combat warrior, somebody who can keep their calm while the bullets are flying, someone who is a competent person, who pulls their weight, I should be afforded the opportunity to use those skills and to fight and defend and protect the things that I believe in."

Now that Hegar has fiercely fought on the front lines for the rights of American women abroad in Afghanistan and at home in the Pentagon, she hopes to take up arms on a new battleground: Congress.

Hegar announced her plans to unseat longtime Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas on Tuesday with a video posted on her Twitter account, writing, “Unseating an entrenched incumbent senator is going to be tough, but I’ve faced worse odds in my life. Saddle up, Texas.” She is the first major Democratic candidate to enter the 2020 race for the Texas congressional seat.

Hegar had previously joined the historic Pink Wave of women candidates in the 2018 midterm elections as a congressional hopeful in Texas’ 31st District, a traditionally conservative seat. Once considered a sleeper candidate, the mom of five surprised Democrats and Republicans alike with a biographical campaign video that quickly went viral after its June 20 debut. Although Hegar lost her race to the incumbent Rep. John Carter, in her new campaign video titled “(Re)Introduction,” Hegar says she won something much bigger— a disruption of the status quo, closing the gap by 20 points in the 31st District.

“New voices, new voters standing up to demand better, and that made it all worth while,” booms Hegar’s voice over the video.

The nearly 4-minute campaign video revisits her previous viral campaign titled “Doors” that followed Hegar's journey to the ballot, which is defined by doors —doors closed on her while seeking support in her fight against the Pentagon, doors she busted open for women serving in combat.

"I think that part of the reason it's been so well-received is because the message resonates with people," Hegar told CNN of the video. "A lot of people across the country feel like they have absent representation and that their voices are not being heard."

The video ends as a challenged to Cornyn, who has held his Senate seat since 2002.

“Weakness, partisanship, gridlock— those are not Texas values John. But maybe you’ve been in Washington so long you’ve forgotten that,” says Hegar as she speeds down a Texas road on a motorcycle. “Well luckily for us, Big John, I’m running to remind you.”

Learn more about how Hegar battled for women's equality in the U.S. military here and find out how women have always played an important role in combat in MAKERS Women in War documentary.

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