Minnesota State Senate candidate gives convention speech while in LABOR – pausing only for her contractions

• Erin Maye Quade, 36, went into labor around 2 a.m. on Saturday, the morning of Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party convention
• The former state rep who ran for lieutenant governor in 2018 needed to win the endorsement of the party at its convention to become its nominee
• So Maye Quade showed up and delivered her speech despite being in labor
• Video taken at the convention shows Maye Quade appearing to struggle through a contraction as she holds her stomach and pauses
• Maye Quade withdrew from the nominating process and her opponent, Justin Emmerich, went on to secure the party’s endorsement for the August 9 primary 
• Almost exactly 24 hours after her labor began, Maye Quade gave birth to Harriet Blake Maye Quade, according to her spouse, Alyse Maye Quade

A Minnesota State Senate candidate continued to deliver her speech at a convention in an attempt to secure her party’s nomination despite being in labor and having contractions that forced her to pause several times.

Erin Maye Quade, a former state rep who ran for lieutenant governor in 2018, went into labor around 2 a.m. Saturday during the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party convention.

But when the candidates were scheduled to speak at 11 a.m., Maye Quade pushed on and delivered her speech, knowing she needed to win the endorsement of the party at its convention to officially become its nominee, her campaign manager Mitchell Walstad told CBS News. 

Video of the speeches shows Maye Quade appearing to have a contraction as she holds her stomach and pauses. She leans over and exhales as the crowd cheers in encouragement. 

Erin Maye Quade, 36, a former state rep who ran for lieutenant governor in 2018, went into labor around 2 a.m. on the morning of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party convention – but still showed up hours later to give her speech

Video of the speeches shows Maye Quade appear to have a contraction as she holds her stomach and pauses

Erin Maye Quade is seen leaning over and exhaling as the crowd cheers in encouragement

‘We had somebody ready to go to jump in for her if she wasn’t able to recover,’ Emma McBride, the political director of the Women Winning and a campaign surrogate told FOX9. ‘But she’s super strong, and she took the time to pause to go through the contraction and then jump right back into her speech.’

But during the Q&A session immediately following speeches, Maye Quade had to be rushed to the hospital to deliver her baby.  

Her campaign then withdrew from the race and her opponent, Justin Emmerich, went on to win the remaining rounds, securing the party’s endorsement for the August 9 primary.

At 2:20 a.m. Sunday, Maye Quade gave birth to Harriet Blake Maye Quade, almost exactly 24 hours after her labor began, according to her partner, Alyse Maye Quade. 

At 2:20 a.m., Erin Maye Quade gave birth to Harriet Blake Maye Quade, almost exactly 24 hours after her labor began, according to her partner, Alyse Maye Quade

Alyse Maye Quade praised her wife Erin Maye Quade for her ‘power and determination’

‘Mom did awesome, even in the moments that got a little intense, and especially when it came to pushing baby girl out,’ she wrote in a post on Instagram. ‘Actually seeing the power and determination, push after push – I’ll never look at my wife the same again, she is so powerful.’ 

Prior to the convention, Maye Quade’s doctor had advised her to rest and stay off her feet, but McBride told FOX 9 that was easier said than done. 

‘That’s not necessarily super possible when you have to go door-knocking and talk to delegates and go to events in the final days of one of the milestones in an election,’ she said.

McBride recalled the moment that Maye Quade was struggling through yet another contraction during the Q&A session, but pulled through just long enough to speak when it was her turn.   

‘I think that she was just in a place of focus and knew that this is what her campaign had been working for months and months,’ McBride said. ‘And was just willing to do whatever it took at that moment to show up to the convention for as long as she could.’

While many were left in awe of Maye Quade’s strength to push through her contractions, others pointed out the unfairness of the situation and that there was no discussion about delaying the convention process because of Maye Quade’s labor.   

‘It’s a really vulnerable thing to be giving birth, to be in labor, to be in that much pain in front of a couple of hundred people… and I think it also just underscored the importance of making sure our systems are inclusive and accessible to all women,’ McBride said.

Erin Maye Quade, a former state rep who ran for lieutenant governor in 2018, withdrew from the process and her opponent, Justin Emmerich, went on to secure the party’s endorsement

Many were left in awe of Maye Quade’s strength to push through her contractions, including her wife (pictured here), and others also pointed out the lack of support for women 

Walstad questioned why the convention was allowed to move forward after she had left. 

‘After having time to think about it, the thing that was most jarring to me was the expectation, at least that we felt, from the day and the process for her to push through this when a lot of other serious medical concerns would not be met with that same expectation,’ her campaign manager Mitchell Walstad said.

‘I think all of us there on Erin’s team were feeling like a wide array of emotions,’ he continued. ‘Obviously, feeling terrible for her that she has to go through this, worrying about the stress and her health and the baby’s health and then also just being in awe of the display of strength that we all witnessed.’

The Democratic-Farmer-Labor candidate for Minnesota district 66, Clare Oumou Verbeten, wrote in a Facebook post that the incident reminded her of how racial inequities in the healthcare system impact Black women.

The Democratic-Farmer-Labor candidate for Minnesota district 66, Clare Oumou Verbeten, wrote in a Facebook post that the incident reminded her of how racial inequities in the healthcare system impact Black women

‘Thinking of my sister Erin Maye Quade this morning. Erin went into labor during her convention yesterday. She was literally experiencing contractions during her speech.

It hurts me to see this very public display of a Black woman pushing through pain, especially when the blatant disregard and dismissal of our pain has led to alarming rates of us dying during childbirth.

Black women are always expected to be so strong. We deserve tenderness, care, and rest. Get some rest, sis. Congrats on becoming a mama ❤️’

Erin Maye Quade’s campaign withdrew after she left to deliver her baby, and her opponent, Justin Emmerich, went on to secure the party’s endorsement for the August 9 primary

Some have even criticized Emmerich for not requesting that the convention be paused once his opponent left.

But in a statement to CBS News, Emmerich said he, Maye Quade and Senate district leadership met to discuss accommodations when she was in labor and he ‘readily agreed to all of them, as did the convention delegates by unanimous consent.’

‘I was on my way to talk to my floor manager to verify this information when Erin pulled me aside,’ he said. ‘She asked if I would be willing to suspend the convention and take the race to a primary since it appeared to be about even. I responded by saying I hadn’t verified the count yet and would get back to her. She said that was fine. However, before I was able to speak with her again, she made the decision to suspend her campaign.’ 

Emmerich told FOX 9 at the convention that he is staying ‘focused on running the race and winning in November.’

‘At the end of the day, we want to make sure that we keep the seat in DFL hands,’ he said. He also added that he hopes the baby is happy and healthy. 

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