TX Senate: MJ Hegar (D)
PROFILE
About Hegar:
As a young girl, Hegar’s dreams of becoming a military pilot were dismissed with claims that “the front is no place for a woman.” Unwilling to back down, Hegar became a commissioned officer in the Air Force after graduating from the University of Texas. She was selected for a highly competitive spot in the pilot training program, where she graduated at the top of her class. Hegar went on to serve three tours in Afghanistan as a combat search and rescue and medevac pilot.
During a rescue mission in Afghanistan, Hedgar’s helicopter was destroyed by the Taliban, and she was injured by enemy gunfire. Hegar received the Purple Heart for her injuries, and she is one of only a few women to be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor for her actions saving the lives of her crew and patients.
When her injuries left her unable to fly, she was barred from competing for a ground combat position because she was a woman. Hegar worked across the aisle and successfully led the charge to overturn the outdated policy and open up hundreds of thousands of jobs for women in the military.
Now Hegar is taking on the fight for the Senate, running against Sen. John Cornyn, who has spent nearly two decades in Washington.
