Texas Candidate MJ Hegar Thinks She Can Turn a Red State Blue
*By Max Godnick*
House Representative John Carter (R-TX) hasn't won a race by fewer than twenty points in a decade, but this year might be different.
Enter MJ Hegar, the Air Force veteran and Purple Heart recipient running for Congress in her native state's 31st district. Back in 2012, she sued the Department of Defense and won, leading to the repeal of the unconstitutional Ground Combat Exclusion Policy. Now, she's got her sight on the Republican incumbent.
"He's never faced somebody like me," Hegar told Cheddar's J.D. Durkin in an interview on Monday.
The self-described "motorcycle-riding, Texas Democrat" won her party's primary in March and is mobilizing her supporters to turn one of the Lone Star State's most reliably red districts blue.
"We are putting together a campaign that's unlike anything \[Carter's\] seen," she said. "We're just going to out-raise him and outwork him."
The hard work is already starting to pay off. In June, Hegar released a campaign video called ["Doors"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zi6v4CYNSIQ) that quickly skyrocketed to viral success - racking up over two and a half million YouTube views in just a week, and over four million views across all online platforms. The video features slick and professional production techniques to tell the candidate's story by focusing on the many important doors in her life.
"What ended up happening was a really amazing, resonating video that has touched people all over the country," Hegar said.
Democratic candidates from across the nation would be wise to look to the video's success as a source of inspiration toward finding a new and effective way of reaching out to and engaging with voters. Hegar noted that the ad's content is not explicitly political, something she thinks can help other candidates from her party.
"People don't ask if you're a Republican or a Democrat anymore these days in my district," she said. "They ask, 'What are you going to do?' 'Are you going to answer your phone when I call?' 'Are you going to shut your door on me?'"
Hegar hopes her candidacy will be a part of a national "blue wave" that carries Democrats from around the country to victory in both House and Senate races. While everything might be bigger in Texas, voter turnout isn't. The state had the country's lowest voter turnout in the 2014 midterm elections. Hegar says part of the battle will be teaching voters that Democratic success in Texas, while rare in recent years, is not unprecedented.
"We're doing our best to remind people that this is the state of LBJ, Anne Richards, Barbara Jordan," she said. "Some strong, kick-ass Democratic women."
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/inside-the-democratic-congressional-campaign-gone-viral).
Vice President Kamala Harris received impressive amount of media coverage in January for making history. However, the media attention waned significantly and some are now even saying she has almost disappeared from public view. Reecie Colbert, founder of BlackWomenViews Media, joined Cheddar Politics to discuss more.
If you thought you heard the last of the Mueller report back in 2019, you'd be wrong. While the bombshell report was the biggest story in Washington for years, much of the report remained redacted. Our friends at BuzzFeed News weren't satisfied, so they sued to have certain passages unredacted. They notched another win when a federal appeals court ordered ten passages from the report to be released.
Matt Topic, BuzzFeed's attorney in the case, and Jason Leopold, reporter at BuzzFeed News, join Cheddar Politics to discuss.
The U.S. reported its first confirmed case of the omicron variant in California on Wednesday. Scientists and health officials are racing to understand the variant, with the WHO saying it's still too early to determine whether it's more contagious, more deadly or more resistant to vaccines than other variants. Omicron has pushed members of the WHO to commit to start talks over a "gobal pandemic treaty" for future pandemic preparedness.
Priti Krishtel, co-founder and co-executive director of the Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss.
Wednesday was not a good day for those who believe in abortion rights in this country as the Supreme Court heard arguments on a Mississippi abortion law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The majority of the court appears poised to roll back abortion rights, and the questions from the conservative justices seemed to indicate the law for nearly 50 years is likely to change.
Jessica Mason Pieklo, senior vice president and executive editor of Rewire News Group, joined Cheddar Politics to discuss Wednesday's hearing.
Michael Cohen, Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, has been busy since completing his prison sentence in November. He's getting into the NFT space, selling his federal prison badge and the original manuscript of his book "Disloyal" as NFTs. Cohen joined Cheddar to discuss his latest venture and why he thinks there is still much to be revealed about his case.
Jonathan Adler, Law Professor at Case Western Reserve University, joined Wake Up With Cheddar to discuss Tuesday's ruling and provide legal context to recent battles over vaccine mandates.
Carlo and Baker wrap up the week talking about the Biden economic boom that no one seems to notice, a verdict in the Jussie Smollett case, the first Starbucks union in America and the pleasures of the "dude nod."
A new bill in Congress shows just how bipartisan cannabis really is. Rep. David Joyce, a Republican from Ohio, teamed up with progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on a cannabis expungement bill. Cheddar cannabis reporter Chloe Aiello spoke with the congressman about the legislation.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus have lined up to support the Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act introduced by Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif. 41st District). The representative joined Cheddar to discuss how instituting a four-day workweek in the United States can be beneficial for both employees with the need of a work-life balance and employers looking both to retain talent amid a labor shortage and improve efficiency in their workforces. "We live in a different time than 90 years ago when we established a 40-hour workweek," he said. "We've had a lot of technological changes, the American worker is exponentially more productive than previous generations, so it's time to reexamine Americans and the way in which they relate to work."
