Shay White is looking to make history in Oklahoma, becoming the first woman -- and the first African-American -- to hold a seat in the state legislature.
She hopes she can use her relatability to her advantage.
“The biggest unifying factor is that I am a voter from my district,” White told Cheddar in an interview. “I live here, I shop here, I worship here, and I contribute here.”
Like her potential constituents, White says, “sometimes I have to make a tough decision [of whether] I buy gasoline or groceries.” She says she wants to provide a voice to working families in her area.
White is one of many women jumping into the electoral fray since 2016’s presidential elections. Nearly 400 are reportedly running for the U.S. House of Representatives this year -- the most in U.S. history -- and 22 are non-incumbent black women.
But White’s campaign has nothing to do with that movement. She told Cheddar she’s wanted to run since age 12.
The twenty-six-year-old elementary school mental health provider has a prevalent presence in her community. Besides being a woman’s rights supporter, the District 77 candidate holds a leadership position within Together Oklahoma, a grassroots education and advocacy group.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/the-womens-march-to-elected-office).
Health experts have slammed the U.S. decision to hog nearly the entire global supply of remdesivir, the only drug licensed so far to treat COVID-19.
Dr. Anthony Fauci says the U.S. is “going in the wrong direction” with coronavirus cases surging in some regions, and that's putting the entire country at risk.
The European Union has announced it will reopen its borders to travelers from 14 countries, but most Americans have been refused entry for at least another two weeks due to soaring coronavirus infections in the U.S.
Jerome Powell says the outlook for the U.S. economy is "extraordinarily uncertain."
Health departments around the U.S. that are using contact tracers to contain coronavirus outbreaks are scrambling to bolster their ranks.
The Supreme Court has struck down a Louisiana law regulating abortion clinics, reasserting a commitment to abortion rights over fierce opposition from dissenting conservative justices in the first big abortion case of the Trump era.
Stocks closed sharply lower on Wall Street as the number of confirmed new coronavirus cases in the U.S. hit an all-time high.
The House of Representatives has passed a Washington, DC statehood bill. The bill is unlikely to make it through the senate as republicans oppose adding more representatives, likely democrat, to congress.
Ja'Ron K. Smith, deputy assistant to President Trump, talks White House progress on police reform and how the president is working to uplift Black and Brown communities.
Texas and Florida clamped down on bars again Friday, and the White House coronavirus task force, led by Vice President Pence, held its first briefing in nearly two months.
