Democrat Lucy Flores Is Your New Ethnic, Female Political Hero

It’s not everyday you look at a gorgeous young Latina woman and think “politician”. You normally think of an older white man. But back in the 60s and 70s no one ever thought an African-American man with younger children would be the President of the United States of America, yet here we are!

The changing face of Politics is an important one, because if these representatives are meant to represent us as citizens, we want them to actually be one of us.

Nevada Lieutenant Governor candidate Lucy Flores (D) is a breath of fresh air in a political system crying out for change. She gained a lot of media attention this week because of a startling admission she made in a congressional hearing in 2013. She had an abortion. We’re not here to debate the ethics of abortion, we’re only talking about why Lucy Flores makes for a positive political representatives for young women.

MSNBC did an extensive profile on Lucy, who has a background that you would never think would be the breeding ground for public office. She came from an impoverished family with 13 kids, whose mom left when they were young, leaving her dad to raise. Being part of a single-parent lower-income Latina household with so many kids, the odds were already stacked against her.

Lucy is a former gang member who has also done prison time. But she eventually turned her life around, and became a lawyer and a state legislator by the age of 31. Her struggles aren’t exactly new in the world, but it is new in the world of US Politics, and Lucy is using her background as a way to draw others in.

She’s not scared of her past and knows the more she is honest and leads by example, she can empower so many other women.

“There are Lucys in every town across this state, that’s why my focus is on making sure that this is a state that works for every Nevadan, not just the privileged few,” she told activists in the video below.

When asked to expand about her abortion, which she received so much hateful backlash from she made it clear that she did not regret it. Why? Because she was 16 at the time.

“I had six other sisters … all of them became pregnant in their teens – all of them. One of them was 14 years old when she got pregnant with twins.”

“I don’t regret it because I am here making a difference, at least in my mind, for many other young ladies and letting them know that there are options and they can do things to not be in the situation I was in, but to prevent,” she said.

More than anything, she wants other young women to be able to look at her, read about her life experience and know that anything is possible if they don’t give up. That’s what is most inspiring about her.

“Our young women can be able to actually look at the governor’s mansion and see that there is a woman – a woman of color – who was actually able to come from District 28 and become the governor of Nevada,” she said.

Watching the well-spoken, gentle-mannered Democrat speak in the video below gives others hope, and it also signals a new wave of women who aren’t afraid of the “old guard” anymore. They will use their life experiences as a valuable tool to create change.

Big ups to #FierceFlores as she has been called on twitter after the news broke about her abortion. So just to wrap up and reiterate, we’re not here to claim our stance on abortion nor condemn Lucy Flores for her life choices. We’re here to tell every woman out there not to be afraid of getting out there in the world and living life to the fullest. Nothing and no one should ever stop you from being the best you!