While celebrating the Seattle Seahawks’ Super Bowl win at the White House in May, President Barack Obama veered toward Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler and asked what has become a familiar question.
“How’s Abigail?”
After the child was born, three months premature, weighing 2 pounds, 12 ounces and without kidneys, Obama had sent the Camas Republican a handwritten note, saying he was praying for her family. In the East Room of the White House that day, the two talked about their daughters.
“We were just being parents, talking about our kids,” Herrera Beutler said.
As she campaigns for a third term, she’s used to sharing the spotlight with her daughter, who turns 1 year old July 15. With nearly every professional interaction she has had since her daughter was born — whether it’s about securing funding for dredging the Columbia River or honoring an NFL team — people want to know how the “miracle baby” is doing.
And she’s quite well, thank you.
But now, as the congresswoman works to balance a high-profile career with being a new mom of a medically complex child, it will be up to voters to decide how Herrera Beutler is doing.