Olivia Wilde Is Hitting the Campaign Trail for Her Mom
*By Max Godnick*
Actress Olivia Wilde is hitting the campaign trail ー but she's not running for office or portraying a politician in a new movie.
Instead, she's playing the real-life role of devoted daughter. The star's mother, Leslie Cockburn, is the Democratic nominee for Congress in Virginia's fifth district. A veteran journalist who spent her career working at "60 Minutes," ABC News, and "PBS FRONTLINE," among other prominent shows, Cockburn will face Republican distillery owner Denver Riggleman in November's midterm elections.
"The fifth district is kind of this intense microcosm," Wilde said in an interview with Cheddar's Baker Machado.
Larger in size than New Jersey, Virginia's fifth includes both rural areas and the city of Charlottesville. Wilde observed that the region's constituents "have all different needs" that represent a variety of issues that "the nation is facing as a whole."
"Obviously, Charlottesville is a hotbed of really intense emotion and controversy," she said.
Wilde is set to join the campaign for the first time on Oct. 14, when she and long-time fiancé, fellow actor Jason Sudeikis, will host a rally at the University of Virginia.
She said that up until now, her mother hasn't needed a celebrity daughter with her on the stump.
"She has been really focusing on just the issues of the fifth district," Wilde said.
But the star said she is excited to get out the vote with under 35 days to go before election day.
"There's a bunch of people who will be voting for the first time in this midterm election, and I think it's incredible what a difference they could make," Wilde said.
The actress is not a total stranger to politics. Sudeikis played Mitt Romney on "Saturday Night Live" during the now-Senate candidate's 2008 and 2012 White House runs. It might not be long before the comedian returns to the NBC sketch show to reprise the role ー former Trump adviser Steve Bannon [recently predicted](https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/409071-bannon-predicts-three-way-race-in-2020) that the president will face a centrist challenge from Romney or Michael Bloomberg in 2020.
Wilde said she's ready for her partner to "put on the old wig" ー with one caveat.
"I think he would be happy to be Mitt again for a day," she said. "As long as it doesn't mean Mitt as president."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/olivia-wilde-is-ready-to-join-her-moms-congressional-campaign).
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