When she was 19 years old and pregnant, Christina Hale’s brothers told her she would “always be a loser.”

“That had a profound effect on me,” Hale said.

The pregnancy just wasn’t what her family was expecting for her, so they were upset about it, but Hale was determined to prove she could still be successful.

As a single mom, she attended Purdue University Northwest and earned her degree in liberal studies.

She worked through college, writing articles for the La Porte County Herald-Argus, and enrolled her son, Owen, in a quality child care program that she credits with being part of the reason she is in the position she’s in today.

After school, she spent time in Wales as a Rotary Foundation scholar studying global relations and the economics of the European Union, all with her son by her side. When she was young, her family had spent time living in London, and she said she wanted her son to also experience what it’s like to attend school in another country.

In 1999, she moved to Indianapolis to work for state government, then taught public speaking at Indiana University and, in 2004, took a job at Kiwanis International.

During her time with Kiwanis, Hale said, she helped with a vaccination project that was aimed at making it safer to give birth in other countries.

“I got to learn a lot about public health issues,” she said.

And it made her realize that Indiana had its own public health challenges.

“I knew I had to get to work in my own community,” Hale said.

So, in 2012, with no political experience, she ran for state representative. She challenged Republican incumbent Rep. Cindy Noe in House District 87, which covers the northeast side of Indianapolis, and won by 51 votes.

Hale earned a reputation as a passionate advocate for women and girls and earned endorsements from both the Indiana Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO when she ran for reelection in 2014.

She stayed in the seat until 2016, when, instead of seeking reelection, she joined Democratic gubernatorial candidate John Gregg’s ticket as his pick for lieutenant governor.

Hale said she learned the importance of having good relationships with lawmakers in both political parties while at the Statehouse.

“It always takes a team to get good legislation passed,” Hale said. “I’ll work with anyone and everyone to get things done.”

The Gregg-Hale ticket lost the 2016 election to Republican Eric Holcomb and his running mate, Suzanne Crouch, but Hale didn’t lose her desire to serve in public office.

She returned to Kiwanis, serving as executive director of youth programs, for a couple of years, but left that job in January to run for Congress.

“I’m a problem solver,” Hale said. “And clearly not enough is getting done in Washington.”

https://www.ibj.com/articles/christina-hale