TX-24: Formerly Homeless Candidate Could Be America's First Afro-Latina In Congress

[RandySF]

Candace Valenzuela knows what it’s like not to know if your family members will have a roof over their heads, or if they’ll be able to pay the bills. That’s why, she says, she would make a great member of Congress.

A lot of people in this country respect the ‘pull yourself up by your bootstraps’ story. But a lot of folks miss the point. We have a lot of people in Congress who can talk about all this in the theoretical sense, but they don’t know the anxiety of not being able to pay the bills, of the pit in your stomach of not knowing if you have a home tomorrow and going through that repeatedly,” Valenzuela said.

Valenzuela, 36, won her Democratic primary runoff in Texas’ 24th Congressional District, stretching between Dallas and Fort Worth, in July. She will face Republican candidate Beth Van Duyne in November’s election for the open congressional seat.

If Valenzuela wins, she will be the first Afro-Latina congresswoman in the nation’s history. She said she’s running to give children the opportunities she had — to go from living through a stint of homelessness as a child to being the first person in her family to go to college.


https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5f31dc81c5b6960c066b2cc9/amp

[DFW]

1. I talked to her on the phone for about half an hour in July.

She seemed really smart, willing to learn about issues she is not up on, and open to learning from people who do. She was fishing for contributions, and I didn't disappoint her. Since then, she has kept in touch as promised (many don't). She seems the real deal. Not there for grandstanding, but to do the job. I think she'd be a real asset for us in Congress.