Sole Woman Running For MD Governor Breastfeeds In Campaign Ad

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Gubernatorial candidate Krishanti O’Mara Vignarajah is shown breastfeeding her child in a new campaign ad that has created a buzz. The former policy director for first lady Michelle Obama is the only woman in the crowded field of Maryland Democrats seeking the nomination, and launched the ad to underscore that distinction, along with the state's all-male Congressional delegation and other elected state offices. Her running mate is former Baltimore Teachers Union president Sharon Blake, an African-American.

“They say no man can beat Larry Hogan. Well, I’m no man,” Vignarajah says in the YouTube ad. The comment takes aim at Republican Gov. Larry Hogan's continuing high approval ratings among both Democrats and GOP voters.

A February Goucher Poll showed Hogan's standing with Marylanders remains unchanged since a September 2017 poll. Sixty-one percent of Marylanders approved of the job Hogan is doing as governor, 18 percent disapproved, and 19 percent said they don't know.

Longtime Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski retired in 2016 and U.S. Rep. Donna Edwards lost to Sen. Chris Van Hollen in the race to replace Mikulski. (For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)

Vignarajah's video says that states led by women have better policy outcomes, and it shows her as a professional, and a mom reading to, playing with, and breastfeeding her 9-month-old daughter, Alana. “What should shock people is that, in 2018, there are no women in Maryland’s 14 statewide or federal offices; that of our 62 governors, all have been white men; and that in the current field of 9 candidates, I am the only woman," she says. "That is unacceptable anywhere, but especially in a state like Maryland, where women and people of color make up 75 percent of our state.”

Patch reader Heather Arwen Shelton said, "I'm excited to have a woman running. And I support breastfeeding 100%. However, I don't wish to see this ad. And I question why she felt this was necessary."

While some voters might see the scenes of her breastfeeding her daughter as controversial, Vignarajah said, “This is my life. This is what moms have been doing forever, juggling and getting the job done. But it isn’t just about representation, it’s about policy.”

She has called for three months of paid family leave, put out a comprehensive plan to fight sexual harassment and sexual violence, and pledged to guarantee universal pre-K, comprehensive STEM funding, and hot and healthy meal for all students. The commercial emphasizes that, “states with women in government have better schools, better healthcare, and lower incarceration rates.”

SEE ALSO: Gov. Hogan Earns Strong Job Approval From Maryland Voters: Poll

Other Democrats in the race include Prince George's County Executive Rushern Baker III, Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, former NAACP president Ben Jealous, state Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Jr., attorney James Shea, and tech entrepreneur Alec Ross. Baker and Jealous are seeking to become the state's first African-American governor. The Maryland primary is June 26.

Image of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Krishanti Vignarajah from YouTube