State representative Candice Pierucci, R-Herriman, hasn’t always found it easy to share her opinion or perspective, but working in welcoming environments and the intrepid examples of role models has enabled her to stand up and speak out. A primary purpose of the newly-minted Republican Women Lead (RWL) Political Action Committee she is spearheading is to provide similar encouragement and resources to other Republican women who are considering running for public office.
Pierucci is a founding board member of RWL, along with all nine Republican women legislators in Utah. Although she is young, Pierucci has deep roots in Utah politics and an array of experience.
She grew up in Herriman and in the same legislative district she now represents. Her interest in politics developed at a young age from discussions with her parents. “My dad and I talked a lot about politics around the dinner table,” Pierucci said. “He would listen to talk radio on the drive home from work and come walking into the house fired up about something.”
She credits her passion and drive to her parents’ “very conservative values” and “killer work ethic.” Outworking opponents but also listening intentionally to their opinions became a guiding star in her life.
JUMPING IN HEAD FIRST
Pierucci first ran for elected office in the sixth grade. As a candidate for student council she won by handing out candy to her classmates and dancing to Aaron Carter’s 2000 song, “I Want Candy.” The opening lyrics read, “I know a girl who’s tough but sweet.”
School teachers cultivated her interest in politics further and nominated Pierucci for leadership opportunities. Numerous club opportunities and continued discussions with encouraging teachers helped her “fall in love with the process.”
Pierucci’s passion and desire to learn inculcated in her a custom-built, uncommon ambition for a high school senior. She approached former state representative Carl Wimmer and asked if she could “shadow him on the hill for a couple of days?” Impressed by her initiative he countered and said, “Why don’t you just intern for me instead?” Pierucci worked it out with her high school schedule and, again, “just fell in love with the process.” She loved it so much that she came back the following year as a legislative assistant.
Later, as a freshman at Utah Valley University (UVU), she interned for Senator Mike Lee’s office in Washington, D.C. Pierucci jumped head first into every opportunity she could get involved in.
She served as president of Utah Valley University’s College Republicans while completing her undergraduate degree in political science. This led to opportunities to help Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign by volunteering to canvas neighborhoods in Nevada and Rhode Island. “I loved all the campaigning and opportunities to get to know others and help people get involved,” she said.
After graduation she worked for Congressman Chris Stweart as his Director of Community Relations and later went to work for the Sutherland Institute, a conservative think tank here in the Beehive State. And completed a Masters in Public Administration at the University of Utah in her spare time.
ENCOURAGED TO SPEAK UP AND SPEAK OUT
Pierucci occasionally found herself being one of only a few women in meetings and classrooms through the years, but she rarely thought of it as a limiting factor. “I didn’t walk into a room and think, ‘oh, I am the only woman in here and I need to act differently,’” Pierucci said. “I just moved forward and participated as I normally would.”
The offices Pierucci worked in encouraged her to speak up and enabled her to engage meaningfully. “I always felt like they had confidence in me and my abilities,” she said. “I also feel like I am a pretty proactive person.” A virtue she claims she first developed as a young intern, all “because Representative Wimmer took a chance on me.”
Pierucci knows that not every woman is naturally inclined to speak up in a classroom or office, in fact, she had to learn this trait as well. “The data actually backs this up, women don’t always share their opinion when asked, even when they know the answer to a question,” she said.
When a professor or boss asked a question, Pierucci made sure to answer the question. “I really tried to push myself to get out of my comfort zone,” Pierucci said. “I had a rule that after 10 seconds, if no one answered the question, I had to speak up and give my opinion.” Regularly doing this enabled her to learn more and “strengthen the bravery muscle.”
“I make a point to talk to young women about this,” Pierucci said. “It’s terrifying to stand up and stand out and be the only person stepping up for someone.” She observes that if women do this while in school the “bravery muscle will get stronger,” so later it will be more comfortable to run for office. “It gets easier putting yourself out there and opening yourself up for rejection, so digging deep and finding that courage is important,” she said.
RUNNING FOR THE STATE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
In 2019, state representative John Knotwell’s midterm resignation presented the opportunity she’d been preparing herself for. Pierucci and her husband had recently moved back to her hometown of Herriman where she gave birth to their son.
“When I heard about his resignation I thought, ‘Gosh, I’ve got to run.’” She immediately called her husband who coincidentally was attempting to call her at the same time.
He answered the call and instantly said, “Can you feel it? Candice, you’ve got to run!” It was decided, she was going to run for public office. The special election was a “family effort” with her young son being less than a year old. She ultimately won and since then has won a general election of her own.
At the start of her service, people wondered how Pierucci could be a young mother and fulfill her responsibilities as a state legislator, she said. She’s noticed that this is probably one of the biggest reasons why Utah women don’t consider running for office. “We don’t have a lot of examples of mothers serving in office, especially young mothers, so they don’t always think it’s doable,” she said. “But I’ve been able to do everything just fine.”
It doesn’t come without a lot of work, however. “I have to juggle a lot of things. Someone once said to her, ‘Do you like taking a break from being a mom during the season?’” Pierucci responded emphatically, “I don’t stop being a mom. In fact, I just got up at 2:00 a.m. to help my son who’s teething. You never stop being a parent.”
Tag-teaming family responsibilities with her husband seems to be the key. “I feel like my husband and I are a great team,” Pierucci said. Obviously, each woman needs to take into account their own family circumstances, she acknowledged. But she encourages women to evaluate their situation and, if they feel it’s right, to run for office.
Pierucci doesn’t want to judge the choices of others. A woman’s decision to stay home and care for her family is an equally valued choice, but she wants to get rid of the idea that they can’t do both. “Too many [women] wait till their children are all grown up before considering a run,” she said.
“Utah women often wait till their 50s or 60s when their children are out of the house before running, but then they miss out on giving their perspective on a huge part of their lives. We need that perspective,” she said.
LAUNCHING THE REPUBLICAN WOMEN LEAD POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE
Valuable mentorship and opportunities to gain experience are paramount for growth in all aspects of life, especially in politics. Pierucci and other board members of RWL, however, have noticed a leadership vacuum in assisting republican women.
“I noticed that a lot of work and training goes into recruiting progressive women. So that’s why we think it will be valuable to have an organization just for Republican women,” she said. “That way those resources that our Democrat counterparts have will also be available to Republican women.”
RWL’s goals differ from traditional identity politics often championed by progessive officeholders across the country. “As Republicans we don’t necessarily believe in equal outcomes, but we’re certainly looking at equitable opportunities,” Pierucci said. “So, if you’re a qualified woman and you’re going to run for an open seat or say you’re running for reelection, then we would like to help you, and we’d like to mentor you, provide training services and resources that are available financially.”
RWL will focus on recruiting and supporting Repubican women to run for office in open seats at all levels of government, according to a press release. “In Utah, 25 percent of state legislators are female; however, just nine percent are Republican women,” the press release continues. “Nationally, the percentage of Republican women serving in state legislatures is nine percent – the same today as in 1995. In comparison, Democrat women now make up 20 percent of state legislators around the country.”
Pierucci adds in the press release that “in a supermajority Republican state, there is value in having more female conservative voices at the table.” The effort, however, is not focused on electing any set number of women, she told Utah Political Underground. “We are in no way looking to hit a quota, and we’re not going after incumbents specifically,” she said. “I want men to succeed just like I want women to succeed. It’s not an us versus them or a scarcity mentality. It is just concerning that in a conservative state, we don’t have conservative women stepping forward to lead. And that doesn’t just mean in the state legislature, but at the city level as well, we need to have their input in all our communities.”
Her state focused political action committee enjoys vast support from Republican state leaders. In addition to all nine of Utah’s Republican women legislators, other board members include, Senate President Stuart Adams, Speaker of the House Brad Wilson, as well as, Governor Spencer Cox and Lt. Governor Deidre Henderson serving as members of the advisory committee.
The Republican Women Lead PAC kicked off their fundraising efforts with a press conference Tuesday morning on the Capitol steps. Their goal is to raise $100,000 before the 2022 elections, and “focus heavily on flipping blue districts to red.”
In closing comments to Utah Political Underground, Pierucci said she wants to strengthen the Republican party’s response to some policy areas. “I think we leave some issues on the table because usually only Democrats talk about shortages in childcare or different policies in schools and education,” she said. Rarely do the issues get addressed because usually the solutions progressive women sponsor grow government, a nonstarter for the conservative dominated state legislature.
On the other hand, Pierucci said, “I would like to point out that when Republican women get involved, those issues get solved because of the perspective and solutions conservative women bring to the table.”
