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Olivia Wildehas been known forbeing outspokenabout her political views—and it turns out, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Wilde’s mother, Leslie Cockburn, an award-winning investigative journalist, is currently running for Congress in the 5th district of Virginia as a Democrat.
“It’s a deep red district,” Wilde told PEOPLE at a recent event celebratingher collaboration with Dunkin’. “But she has already worked so hard on it that it’s now a neck-and-neck race between her and the Republican nominee.”
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Wilde continues, “It’s a very conservative district, but there are a lot of people [there] who are more progressive in terms of thinking. But they’ve never had a representative who really stood up for those values.” The actress and mom-of-two adds, “And now my mom gets to be that for the people of the 5th district as a nominee and hopefully as their Congressperson!”
“She has a totally grassroots campaign,” Wilde says of her mother, “with 4,500 volunteers. They’ve knocked on 50,000 doors and she’s revisited counties 10 times. She’s so dedicated so it’s a really exciting time for the whole family.”
In August 2017, during theCharlottesville protestsin Virginia, Wilde shared a statement from her mother on Instagram: “Message to the people of Charlottesville, from my mother, Leslie Cockburn, who is running for Congress in VA.”
“She did this for us,” wrote Wilde on Instagram. “Despite death threats. With her family in hiding. For us. For women. For men. For a different future for our kids. Thank you, Dr. Ford. I believe you.”
source: people.com
