The race for lieutenant governor in Nevada has an unlikely candidate: Democrat Lucy Flores, who has served a prison sentence and was a gang member. Flores, 34, is also outspoken about her past abortion and her troubled past.
Unlike many political hopefuls, a personal abortion story is a subject untouched in the public square, but Flores’s past does not seem to faze her political career. Flores, who was raised in a low-income home and dropped out of high school, said she convinced her father to pay for the abortion – one she says she does not regret.
“I don’t regret it,” Flores said, “because I am here making a difference, at least in my mind, for many other young ladies and letting them know that there are options and they can do things to not be in the situation I was in, but to prevent.”
During a debate over sex education in public schools, Flores noted that all six of her sisters became pregnant as teenagers – one of which had twins at the age of 14. Flores is one of 13 children. Since Flores did not want to end up as a teen mother and was not ready to have a child, Flores said she chose abortion.
“I didn’t want to be like that [a teen mother],” Flores told a local newspaper last year. “I wanted to do better and I knew I couldn’t do that if I had a baby, just like everyone else [in my family].”
Flores’s statements drew criticism from pro-life advocates, who said Flores’s comments about teen motherhood are flawed and based on a misconception.
The Democrat is challenging Republican Senator Mark Hutchinson in the race for Nevada lieutenant governor. The race is crucial because the winner will likely secure the gubernatorial seat, since Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval is expected to vacate his position to challenge Senator Harry Reid in 2016.
