Round Rock Vet Hegar To Take On Cornyn In U.S. Senate Race

ROUND ROCK, TX — Decorated combat veteran Mary Jennings “MJ” Hegar on Tuesday announced her campaign for the U.S. Senate in the battleground state of Texas, where she hopes to unseat longtime incumbent John Cornyn in 2020.

Hegar hinted at her desire to run against Cornyn in a tweet the previous day, asking simply if she should, illustrating the vague question with a photo of Cornyn's senatorial office door. She made her quest official on Tuesday morning, posting a video to social media as a re-introduction to voters that highlights her military service, personal narrative and the contrast in the Senate race.

"Washington, still has a lot of listening to do, and I’m gonna make sure they hear us,” Hegar says in the video. “Texans deserve a Senator who represents our values: strength, courage, independence, putting Texas first.”

In the video, Hegar identifies Senator Cornyn as “...that tall guy lurking behind Mitch McConnell.” In subsequent reference, he's simply "Big John."

“He calls himself Big John, but he shrinks out of the way while Mitch McConnell gets in the way of anything actually getting done in our government,” says Hegar. “And now John Cornyn’s shrinking out of the way again while they try to take away protections for those of us with pre-existing health conditions. Weakness, partisanship, gridlock - those are not Texas values, John. But maybe you’ve been in Washington so long that you’ve forgotten that.”

Two days after announcing her Senate bid, Hegar secured the endorsement of VoteVets PAC, the largest progressive group of veterans in America. "Texas is ready for a U.S. Senator who isn’t afraid of fighting for our values and standing up for our families," said Jon Soltz, Iraq War Veteran and Chair of VoteVets. “MJ brings all of that to the table, along with her experience fighting for the United States, in Afghanistan and raising two young boys in Texas. Her commitment to community, to country, and to service is unrivaled, and we absolutely cannot wait to see her draw that contrast with Washington politician John Cornyn.”

Raised in Texas, Hegar was commissioned into the Air Force through ROTC at the University of Texas in 1999, then served on active duty as an Aircraft Maintenance Officer until 2004 when she entered into pilot training with the Air National Guard. She served three tours in Afghanistan flying Combat Search and Rescue as well as Medevac missions.

On her third tour to Afghanistan in 2009, Hegar was shot down on a Medevac mission and sustained wounds resulting in being awarded the Purple Heart. Her actions on this mission saved the lives of her crew and patients, earning her the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor Device. She is one of only a few women in history to receive the DFC with Valor.

In 2012, Hegar filed a lawsuit against the Secretary of Defense asserting that the Combat Exclusion Policy banning women from competing for certain positions in the military was unconstitutional. Hegar’s lawsuit and fight for equality was instrumental in the 2013 repeal of the policy. She has detailed her experiences in her best-selling memoir “Shoot Like A Girl,” which was published in 2017.

Hegar lives in Round Rock with her husband and two young sons. She has an Executive MBA from the University of Texas at Austin. As part of her biography, she touts her volunteer work in mentoring cadets at UT, volunteering with Safe Place, and serving on the Board of Directors of the Texas Advocacy Project.

Learn more about Hegar and her Senate campaign at www.mjfortexas.com.

Hegar came within striking distance of unseating another Republican in last year's elections, losing to longtime state congressional incumbent John Carter in the race for the Texas 31st District by some 4,000 votes. In so doing, Hegar came closer to unseating Carter — who hasn't won a race by fewer than 20 points in a decade up to that point — than any Democrat ever has.

She made a national splash in announcing her race against Carter with another video titled "Doors" that would go on to be viewed millions of times: