07/20/2026
Last March, Lance Gooden posted this about me after I showed up to advocate for our rights with my baby on my hip.
He called me a “pro-transgender agenda nut” because I was a mother who refused to stay quiet.
Then, during this primary, a woman running against me told me I should stay home and take care of my kids.
That part stayed with me.
Because women know exactly how heavy that expectation is. We know what it means to be told we can work, but not too much. Lead, but not too boldly. Have children, but never let motherhood inconvenience anyone. Show up for our families, but do not bring those experiences into politics.
I did not decide to run because public office looked easy.
I ran after childcare became nearly as expensive as my salary.
I ran after miscarriages, high-risk pregnancies, emergency care, C-sections, and NICU stays.
I ran after watching Roe fall while I was pregnant with my son.
I ran after learning, over and over again, how badly our healthcare system fails women and how little support families receive once a child is actually born.
And still, the message was the same.
Stay home.
Mothers running for office are asked who is watching their children. Fathers rarely are.
We are judged for bringing our children with us, judged for leaving them with someone else, judged for working, judged for not working, and judged for believing our lives have prepared us to lead.
Meanwhile, the people making those judgments vote against paid family leave, affordable childcare, reproductive freedom, maternal healthcare, stronger wages, and workplace protections for parents.
They praise motherhood in speeches while making motherhood harder in practice.
That is why it matters that more women are running across Texas and across the country.
We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for a country where having a child does not cost you your career, your healthcare, your financial stability, or your voice.
Affordable childcare. Paid leave. Safe pregnancies. Reproductive freedom. Good public schools. Fair wages. Healthcare that treats women like people instead of afterthoughts.
Being a mother does not make me less prepared to serve.
It is one of the reasons I know exactly what families are up against.
If you're still with me consider donating to our campaign to bring representation to the families of East Texas just like mine: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/chelseyhockettforcongress
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