M. J. Hegar

M. J. Hegar
Personal details
Born
Mary Ottilie von Stein

(1976-03-16) March 16, 1976 (age 48)
Fairfield, Connecticut, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Brandon Hegar
​
(m. 2011)​
Children2
EducationUniversity of Texas at Austin (BA, MBA)
WebsiteCampaign website
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Air Force
Years of service1999–2011
Rank Major

Mary Jennings Hegar (née von Stein;[1] born March 16, 1976) is an American United States Air Force veteran and former political candidate.[2] In 2012, she sued the U.S. Air Force to remove the Combat Exclusion Policy.[3][4] In 2017, she published the memoir Shoot Like a Girl, which describes her service in Afghanistan.[5]

In July 2017, Hegar announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for United States House of Representatives to Texas's 31st congressional district. After winning the nomination,[6] she lost to incumbent Republican John Carter by about 3%.[7] She was the Democratic nominee in the 2020 United States Senate election in Texas, losing to incumbent Republican John Cornyn by ten percentage points.

  1. ^ "Heritage Honor Wall: Capt Mary (von Stein) Jennings, Class of 1999, Combat Pilot, HH-60G Pave Hawk & Purple Heart Winner". Department of Air Force Science, University of Texas at Austin. 11 December 2009.
  2. ^ Svitek, Patrick (6 July 2017). "Military hero MJ Hegar launches Democratic bid against U.S. Rep. John Carter". Texas Tribune.
  3. ^ "Mary Jennings Hegar, Jennifer Hunt, Alexandra Zoe Bedell, Colleen Farrell, and Service Women's Action Network v. Leon Panetta, Secretary of Defense. Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief" (PDF). American Civil Liberties Union. 27 November 2012.
  4. ^ Worrall, Simon (26 March 2017). "Female Helicopter Pilot Took on the Taliban—and the Pentagon". National Geographic. Archived from the original on March 26, 2017.
  5. ^ Hegar, Mary Jennings (2016). Shoot Like a Girl: One Woman's Dramatic Fight in Afghanistan and on the Home Front. New York: Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. ISBN 978-1-101-98845-9. OCLC 935676913.
  6. ^ Silver, Johnathan (22 May 2018). "Hegar wins Democratic nomination in 31st Congressional District". Austin American-Statesman. Archived from the original on 23 July 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  7. ^ McElrath, Leah (8 July 2017). "Texas Purple Heart veteran enters House race to unseat 8-term GOP birther". Shareblue Media. Archived from the original on 7 April 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2018.