Minnesota's Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan reveals dark secret from her childhood

Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan has started to unfastened up astir her acheronian past.

The 45 twelvemonth old, who whitethorn go nan state's first female politician if Tim Walz is elected vice president, said up precocious astir really she witnessed her then-stepfather maltreatment her mother starting astatine nan property of astir 10.

'My mom stayed because she wanted maine to beryllium capable to spell done college,' Flanagan recounted astatine a caller sojourn to Cornerstone Advocacy Center for victims of home abuse, intersexual unit and quality trafficking, nan Minnesota Star Tribune reports. 

She said she only realized that unit wrong nan location was not normal erstwhile she near for assemblage and learned that different children did not turn up that way. 

'Most group don't telephone location to spot if I should travel location aft school, aliases if I should spell to my champion friend Lauren's house,' Flanagan said.

But for galore years, Flanagan did not consciousness comfortable talking astir what she had endured - moreover arsenic she connected pinch voters astir different aspects of her individual life, specified arsenic discussing what it was for illustration to turn up pinch a azygous mother successful St. Louis Park who relied connected nationalist programs.

That began to alteration successful 2009, erstwhile she went to Washington DC pinch nan progressive training group Wellstone Action to spot then-Vice President Joe Biden person an grant from nan Sheila Wellstone Institute for his defense for home unit victims.

There, Flanagan said she felt compelled to show Biden astir nan maltreatment she observed arsenic a child.

'I conscionable started weeping and nan vice president stood up and gave maine a hug. I virtually cried into his chest,' nan lieutenant politician told nan Star Tribune.

'And he said, "If you tin show nan vice president that story. I stake you tin show different group that story."'

In nan years since, Flanagan has started to mention to herself arsenic a 'survivor and kid witnesser of home abuse,' without going into specifications astir what she went through.

David Wellstone, who was pinch Flanagan connected nan 2009 travel said that erstwhile nan lieutenant politician now shares her communicative pinch others 'it gives permission' to others to unfastened up.

'There's truthful overmuch stigma astir nan issue, and location tin beryllium truthful overmuch shame,' he said.

'When personification arsenic powerful arsenic she is, and each that she attained, tin talk astir it, it gives a full caller level of dream and nan expertise for group to show their story.'

Staff members astatine Cornerstone, including Executive head Artika Roller, besides said they heard Flanagan speak astir her past astatine a rally for action among advocates and survivors.

'For me, it gives dream that group tin not only flooded traumatic situations, they tin excel and thrive,' Roller said.

Flanagan, who is simply a personnel of nan White Earth Nation, said she besides wants young women - particularly young Native American women - to cognize that 'we tin return up abstraction and that we are valuable.

'We request to talk astir it,' said Flanagan, who is simply a mother to a woman successful nan sixth-grade. 

'I americium a cycle-breaker and I americium raising a cycle-breaker,' she said.

She besides noted that nan past clip she saw Biden, he remembered their speech from much than a decade ago.

'Flanagan,' he reportedly told her, 'I stake you've saved a batch of lives.'