When Jane Swift was 25, she did something most women her age don't do. She ran for

State Senate. This was back in 1990 in Western Massachusetts. One day, before the election,

she went to a small town in her district to talk to a newspaper reporter.

It was a little bit of an older guy, and we sat down and we started going through the

typical biographical data. You know, how old was I, where was I from? Progress to, was

I married? Jane was used to that question. Her answer was no.

This is when it started to get a little odd. This reporter said to me, did I have a boyfriend?

At this point, I felt a little bit like my mother may have called him, because this was

a big concern of hers as well. I was actually pretty proud of myself because for the first

time, and many years, I was able to answer yes. But his next question was really my first

clue to just how strange my future would become as a young woman candidate seeking office,

because when I told him yes, rather than going on to talk about taxes and my plans for

local aid and improving public education, he asked me how serious my relationship was.

Jane was like, why does he care? But I said, well, I'm not sure, but if you want to call

and ask him and let me know, that would be great. It did not dissuade him. He said to me,

well, at some point, I assume you're going to get married. And if you get married and

start a family, what will that mean for your constituents in your career? And the

state senate? I was 25 years old, and I was probably for one of the first times in my

life rendered speechless. I had not actually thought about that question all that much,

and I couldn't believe he was asking me. But as the Google search that you may have done

on me will prove that was a question that would become pretty consistently asked of me

and become a reality in my political life. But that was the first clue. The first clue

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