Campaigning while in labor
April 25, 2022 11:39 AM   Subscribe

Erin Maye Quade was running for the MN State Senate, but had to leave her convention to give birth. She lost the endorsement contest. Her opponent made a statement, including explaining why he refused to suspend the convention [twitter link].

Erin Maye Quade is a former state representative who, among other things, led a sit-in during legislative session at the state capitol to demand action on gun violence. She ran for lieutenant governor alongside state senator Erin Murphy, but lost the endorsement to the current governor/lt governor team.
posted by Emmy Rae (21 comments total) 6 users marked this as a favorite
 
Point of clarification: the Democratic party in Minnesota is called the Democratic Farmer-Labor party, or DFL. So when you see "DFLer" it just means Democrat.
posted by Emmy Rae at 11:42 AM on April 25, 2022 [2 favorites]


Her opponent made a statement, including explaining why he refused to suspend the convention [twitter link]

So the twitter link says nothing about refusing to suspend the conference.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 11:49 AM on April 25, 2022 [1 favorite]


It has a statement from him, saying she asked him to suspend the convention and take the race to a primary, but he wanted to verify the counts first and then she suspended her campaign before he got back to her.
posted by Emmy Rae at 11:53 AM on April 25, 2022 [2 favorites]


Hmm. Seems like a dick move.
posted by Saxon Kane at 11:56 AM on April 25, 2022 [2 favorites]


Looking it up and...not surprised, she's running against a Republican douchebag.
posted by Chocomog at 11:57 AM on April 25, 2022


Just to be clear: Justin Emmerich is also a member of the DFL, yes? I mean, it would be great to use this to slam the hypocrisy of a "pro-life" repugnant, but it doesn't seem like that's the case
posted by Saxon Kane at 12:03 PM on April 25, 2022 [2 favorites]


Just to be clear: Justin Emmerich is also a member of the DFL, yes?

Yes, they are running to be the DFL-endorsed candidate in the general election.
posted by Emmy Rae at 12:06 PM on April 25, 2022 [2 favorites]


The killer move here would have been for Maye Quade to move to have it suspended and then let all the delegates for Emmerich vote nay. Moving to suspend and having him agree would probably not have won her the endorsement if he was that far ahead, but moving to suspend and having him oppose might very well have been fatal for him. And as far as he's concerned, if he had moved to suspend he would have gotten aaalllll the good press and now we're talking about what a douche he is.
posted by HotToddy at 12:47 PM on April 25, 2022 [3 favorites]


This is insanity..
posted by kfholy at 1:46 PM on April 25, 2022


Note: Erin Maye Quade was on the DFL endorsed gubernatorial ticket with Erin Murphy and lost a primary to Tim Walz and Peggy Flanagan. So it might be a little ironic if she chooses to bring this to a primary and beats the endorsed candidate.

The DFL endorsement process is a utter nightmare of long meetings under Robert's Rules and men who love to talk hearing themselves talk. It starts with precinct caucuses on a Tuesday night that barely have a way to participate if you can't be there in person. Then people selected from the first caucus go on to state house and state senate conventions that take more hours on a Saturday or Sunday and there is no way to have your voice heard if you can't stay there all day.

I had really hoped that the success of the Minneapolis DFL's 2021 virtual caucus would have let us have a more accessible process this year, but those who loved the access they got to politicians in the old way, kept it like the old ways.
posted by advicepig at 2:02 PM on April 25, 2022 [6 favorites]


Also, Jorts has weighed in on Twitter
posted by advicepig at 2:31 PM on April 25, 2022 [4 favorites]


The killer move here would have been for Maye Quade to give birth on stage, and when the baby comes out it's waving a little American flag and wearing a shirt that says "Vote for my Mom!"
posted by Saxon Kane at 2:37 PM on April 25, 2022 [9 favorites]


This is District 57, which is basically Apple Valley and Rosemount in the southern suburbs.(A lot of news articles don't describe this well--this is one local district endorsing candidates for the state legislature from their local district. It is not statewide.)

These are areas the DFL needs to win if it's going to take back the State Senate. Several years ago, these areas were reliably Republican, but a growing number of voters in these areas have been turned off by Trumpism specifically and right-wing extremism in general in the Republican party, and have become more winnable for the DFL.

It's vitally important that women voters stay engaged in a race like this. They might be giving up on Republicans, but they also have the option to stay home and not vote.

The DFL has a track record of being inclusive and accommodating, sometimes proactively, sometimes reactively under pressure. This sort of event certainly won't sit well with the rank and file in the party itself.

I don't think this is a major crisis for the DFL statewide, but with the State Senate being very closely contested, this could be an "own goal" that didn't need to happen. One or two districts could swing control in November; every district matters.
posted by gimonca at 3:10 PM on April 25, 2022


The DFL has a track record of being inclusive and accommodating, sometimes proactively, sometimes reactively under pressure. This sort of event certainly won't sit well with the rank and file in the party itself.

This may be true some places but in my previous South Minneapolis district, the Somali population was VERY engaged and organized. Yet the way translation was handled was a mess and frequently it seemed to me that Somali participants were punished for not following the rules perfectly (or just kind of intuitively knowing them like the retired white guys did, from years of participation - things were not always explained well and this process gets very complicated and tedious). Many racist accusations were thrown around, as if the Somali participants had come to a boring-ass day of politics in order to sow trouble. It was extremely concerning to me and I saw it as a major failure to engage with a very important and central constituency.

This incident seems like a similar case of just following the rules rather than having any sense of what an actually "good" process would look like.
posted by Emmy Rae at 3:20 PM on April 25, 2022 [3 favorites]


From Justin Emmerich's statement: "First, let me offer my congratulations to Erin and her wife on the birth of their daughter. My wife and I are expecting a daughter in August, and as a parent, I know what a special time this is." [...] "When Erin notified me and Senate district leadership that she was in labor, we met to discuss accommodations. I readily agreed to all of them, as did the convention delegates by unanimous consent.

"Had there been a formal request from Erin or any of the delegates to suspend the convention in order to hold it at a later date I would have agreed, however no such request or motion was made." In the next paragraph: "She asked if I would be willing to suspend the convention and take the race to a primary since it appeared to be about even. I responded by saying I hadn't verified the count yet and would get back to her. She said that was fine. However, before I was able to speak with her again, she made the decision to suspend her campaign."

Candidate who delivered speech while in labor may run in primary election (Minnesota Reformer) “She has not made a decision yet on if the campaign will be going to a primary,” Mitchell Walstad, Maye Quade’s campaign manager, told the Reformer. “I’ve only talked to her very briefly since she left (for the hospital) Saturday. I’m still giving her space to just be a new mom and not worry about all of this.” [...] After the first round of balloting, Emmerich had 55% of the votes to Maye Quade’s 44%. A candidate needs 60% to win the endorsement. At that point, Maye Quade decided she had to leave for the hospital, Walstad said, and asked Emmerich if he would be willing to suspend the convention and go to a primary. Emmerich said in a statement that he told Maye Quade he would get back to her; Walstad says Emmerich didn’t respond.

Does "formal" w/r/t a request mean something specific in Minnesota primary rules?
posted by Iris Gambol at 4:35 PM on April 25, 2022 [2 favorites]


Erin Maye Quade:
- has a mentor in her old boss, (former Representative, now AG) Keith Ellison
- had a Republican tracker stick so closely on the campaign trail that the neighborhood watch grew concerned, in 2016
- accused state legislators* Dan Schoen (D) and Tony Cornish (R) of sexual harassment, in 2017 (there were other accusers + lots of evidence); both men resigned
- as a first-term representative, held a 24-hour sit-in on the House floor in 2018 to protest Republican inaction on gun violence
- is the Advocacy Director at Gender Justice, working to "advance gender justice through public education, legislative outreach, strategic partnerships and coalition-building"

*Minnesota lawmaker: sexual harassment pervasive at Capitol (MPR News, Nov. 9, 2017)

She's also a Black woman who went into labor 11 days before her due date; her wife, Alyse (previously the political director of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party), made a social media post that Maye Quade and their daughter Harriet Blake are well. They plan to call her Hattie.

I'm with this Twitter user: 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.
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:39 PM on April 25, 2022 [8 favorites]


If the system had been built with full participation from women, the actual rules of order would include suspending the convention while a candidate gives birth (!)

Dudebra Emmerich wouldn't be talking about how the only thing that matters is electing a Democrat if their situations were reversed and he had to go to the hospital instead of staying and speechifying some more.
posted by Flock of Cynthiabirds at 5:58 PM on April 25, 2022 [4 favorites]


Look, he needed an engraved, signed, and notarized request. How else would he know it's real? He's just trying to protect the integrity of the process. /s
posted by rhizome at 6:00 PM on April 25, 2022 [2 favorites]


I was a delegate at the SD56 convention and was there from beginning to end. Lots of speculation and kneejerk assumptions/insults here from people who either don’t understand the Minnesota DFL process or are turning Erin into a victim & Justin into a villain based on press reports & no knowledge.

Let me say, you had to be there—there was a lot of uncertainty and confusion after Erin's announcement and the volunteers running the convention were caught by surprise--everyone was. I think they did the best they could. And there was plenty of ambition shown by both candidates that affected their decisions. I get that it is a big deal to run for office, but I hope Erin sticks to her agreement to abide by the endorsement and does not challenge in a primary.

There is some history here that doesn’t get told. Erin was the representative from District 57A (now 56A with redistricting) in her first term. The DFL in SD57A worked extraordinarily hard to get her elected in 2016 in what had been a republican district for years. We were thrilled when we turned that seat blue.

She accepted the (unopposed) endorsement for her second term and then, barely two days before the candidate filing deadline in 2018, she quit her campaign (on a Saturday night) to run as lieutenant governor with Erin Murphy for governor on a long shot campaign (sorry ErinM, I caucused for you, but it was a long shot) with no notice/discussion with SD leadership. Which isn’t to say they approve/disapprove her choice, but common sense (& courtesy) would indicate informing your supporters makes sense if you want their continued support. She left us in the dust.

The District leadership had to scramble to find a candidate and go through the endorsement process via email. We were lucky and had a good candidate and successful campaign, but people were angry and upset. And have long memories. The question came up in the candidate Q/A at the beginning of the process of whether the endorsed candidate would fulfill their elected term. She gave an evasive answer. In that same Q/A session, she agreed to follow the endorsement. But now she wants to go to primary? I don't think that will go over well in the District.

I will add that during her term, I could never get an appointment or response from her as my representative. I had no problem getting responses from the Republican holders of that seat. I don’t forget that either. I have other observations on her actions during her limited term, but will leave those out. Emmerich might not be a perfect candidate, but I could not vote to endorse Erin after her previous term. I want someone committed to those they represent. And I am not the only one in 57A with that opinion.

At the convention, the Senate District leadership and Emmerich agreed—and delegates concurred—to move up the endorsement process in the agenda—which cut short any conversations the candidates might have had with delegates to solicit their support. Under the original agenda, there would have been 2 or so hours before the endorsement process began.

Others have tried to explain the DFL process of endorsement, but basically there are short candidate statements, Q/A from submitted questions, then voting. Everything is timed. No ‘Speechifying’. Then there is voting via paper ballots (signed by delegate) with your candidate of choice. She was behind in the balloting at the end of the first round by a significant margin—it seems unlikely she would have gained the votes to be endorsed in future rounds. She could have conceded at that point, but didn’t. If the process was suspended, it would be an opportunity for her to extend her campaign beyond Saturday.

We were in the middle of the second ballot when Erin announced she was leaving—she did not clarify whether she was leaving the endorsement process or the campaign or what. It would have been helpful if she had made a clear statement of intent. The explanation was left up to her campaign manager, who appeared inexperienced and as confused as everyone else. The 2nd ballots were collected and not counted. A new ballot was distributed with the choice of Emmerich or No Endorsement. Emmerich won the percentage he needed for endorsement.

And that was just the Senate endorsement process—there are also endorsements for the 2 House seats, elections for various other officers, delegates to the state convention, constitution adoption, and time for people to speak for/against the resolutions (75, I think), and voting on resolutions. DFL likes participation.

There is no question the DFL process is long & complicated and can be confusing, but we know that before we get to the District conventions. I have been to several trainings on the process (walking caucuses, anyone?) and I am always happy when the leadership is experienced and can lead through the process. This endorsement process is a big deal to the candidates and the District.

Maybe different decisions could have been made, but remember, all 200+ of us were already there expecting an endorsement process when this drama happened. We were devoting a Saturday to participating in democracy at the most basic level. Should all of us have been disenfranchised in this process? It would be unlikely we could have had another convention this spring. We have known for months the convention date and planned around it.

It is expensive to run a District convention—space rental, printing, mailing, etc., getting DFL leaders there—and the Districts don’t have a lot of money to do it. Endorsement at the SD convention avoids the primary process for determining the candidate, so there is more time to focus on the candidate and less campaigning against someone in your own party.

As someone noted above, it is very important that we keep this MN Senate seat blue. Not having an endorsement and going to primary would make that harder, since the effort would be on finding a candidate, not on everyone campaigning to keep the seat. We also face reelection battles for the all MN Constitutional officers and US Congressional District 2 (Angie Craig). A lot of work ahead.
posted by Nosey Mrs. Rat at 9:07 PM on April 25, 2022 [20 favorites]


Thanks for all the additional context, Nosey Mrs. Rat.

I guess what is really salient to me about this story is just reflecting on how bad her options were and how the victorious candidate and chair keep emphasizing that she was allowed to make a number of choices. I don't really see a good option for her, since when the baby is coming, they're coming. She probably doesn't want to campaign for the primary (nobody does, but especially postpartum) and also didn't want to lose before she lost. It definitely wouldn't be unheard of for his 55% to dig in, her 44% to dig in, and nobody gets 60% and they end up heading to the primary anyway.

Personally I get this sense of "what more does she want, we gave her choices" but those choices are within this caucus/convention process that is really prohibitive for many people to participate in - including candidates.

I don't know. It's hard for me not to separate out my own experiences of "choose which sacrifice you want to make and be satisfied with it". In this case it seems that the person on the other side doesn't have any sacrifice to make - and doesn't acknowledge that lopsided element. (Maybe he did somewhere and I missed that statement.)
posted by Emmy Rae at 8:45 AM on April 26, 2022 [5 favorites]


Her campaign failed her, first and foremost.

Her campaign should have been in talks with party officials and opponents about such things before the convention started. The women who work in muni and state elections where I am from would have done so without hesitation, in public, and with all contingency docs filled out and the proper witness or notary on 24 hr call.

And if the wife was a former higher-up in the party? You don’t get that far without one walking-encyclopedia-with-a-law-degree-and-photographic-memory on staff or in your inner circle to be that witness. You simply don’t allow your candidate to get railroaded.

I can’t believe there was that much balldropping, so I wonder: Was that first round split something she could have overcome? Nose counters might have determined that it was over anyway. When party people smell that, then everything goes toward closure.
posted by drowsy at 5:47 PM on April 26, 2022 [1 favorite]


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