A first-time candidate in Texas who campaigned at the hospital after going into labor during a border-separation protest won a seat in the state's House of Representatives

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A first-time candidate in Texas who campaigned at the hospital after going into labor during a border-separation protest won a seat in the state's House of Representatives

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  • Democrat Erin Zwiener defeated Republican Ken Strange in Texas' District 45 House of Representatives race on Tuesday night.
  • Zwiener was pregnant throughout her campaign, and according to TIME correspondent Charlotte Atler, she continued to talk with voters even after going into labor.
  • Zwiener went into labor during a border-separations protest and still continued to campaign.

A first-time candidate in Texas who went into labor during a border-separation protest was elected into the state's House of Representatives.

Democrat Erin Zwiener, a 33-year-old children's book author, defeated Republican Ken Strange in Texas' District 45 House of Representatives race in Tuesday night's Midterm elections.

Zwiener was pregnant throughout her campaign, and according to TIME correspondent Charlotte Atler, she continued to talk with voters even after going into labor.

Atler said Zwiener went into labor during a border-separations protest, but that didn't stop her from speaking about her campaign. 

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"She met three potential voters at the hospital," Atler wrote on Twitter. "She had some time to kill after her epidural, so she wrote a fundraising email."



Read more: Midterm key takeaways: Trump's message flops, and Democrats set the stage for 2020


Zwiener continued to campaign after giving birth, and one of her supporters taught her how to tie a blanket in order to nurse in public, Atler said.

The first-time candidate from Driftwood, Texas, won 51% of the votes on Tuesday night.

Just over 80,000 people voted in the District 45 House election, which encompasses Blanco and Hays counties.

During her campaign, Zwiener pushed for public education funding, investments in renewable energy and Medicaid expansion, according to KUT News.

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