--- description: Women's rights activist seeks Democratic endorsement title: Sandra Fluke Files for Congressional Bid in California image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt373925124543e8c1/698681ea13c79f913e190a2b/sandra-fluke-congress-california.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Sandra Fluke Inches Toward Congressional Run by [Laura Stampler](/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 4, 2014 1:30 PM CUT  Sandra Fluke, a third-year law student at Georgetown University and former president of the Students for Reproductive Justice group there, testifies before the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee Feb. 23, 2012 in Washington. Sandra Fluke, a third-year law student at Georgetown University and former president of the Students for Reproductive Justice group there, testifies before the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee Feb. 23, 2012 in Washington.Alex Wong—Getty Images by [Laura Stampler](/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 4, 2014 1:30 PM CUT Women’s rights activist Sandra Fluke has [taken another step](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/02/04/sandra-fluke-files-in-california-for-congressional-bid/ "undefined") toward running for Congress in California. Fluke, who has made headlines through her advocacy for contraception coverage, has filed paperwork seeking the [Democratic endorsement](http://www.cadem.org/resources?id=0546 "undefined") for the seat being left open by retiring Rep. Harry Waxman, the Washington _Post_ [reports](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/02/04/sandra-fluke-files-in-california-for-congressional-bid/ "undefined"). Fluke had previous said she is “strongly considering” a run, but filing for the endorsement is the first concrete step in that direction. She has yet to officially announce her campaign or file paperwork with the Federal Election Commission. The 32-year-old burst onto the national scene in 2012 when her testimony in favor of health insurance coverage for contraception was seized upon by conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, who called her [a “slut” and a “prostitute](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/29/rush-limbaugh-sandra-fluke-slut%5Fn%5F1311640.html "undefined").” He later [apologized](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/03/rush-limbaugh-apologizes-to-sandra-fluke%5Fn%5F1318718.html "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3998/sandra-fluke-harry-waxman-california-congress/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3998/sandra-fluke-harry-waxman-california-congress/"},"headline":"Sandra Fluke Inches Toward Congressional Run","datePublished":"2014-02-04T13:30:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:17:18.331Z","description":"Women's rights activist seeks Democratic endorsement","url":"https://time.com/3998/sandra-fluke-harry-waxman-california-congress/","keywords":["California"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt373925124543e8c1/698681ea13c79f913e190a2b/sandra-fluke-congress-california.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laura Stampler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt373925124543e8c1/698681ea13c79f913e190a2b/sandra-fluke-congress-california.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Sandra Fluke, a third-year law student at Georgetown University and former president of the Students for Reproductive Justice group there, testifies before the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee Feb. 23, 2012 in Washington.","caption":"Sandra Fluke, a third-year law student at Georgetown University and former president of the Students for Reproductive Justice group there, testifies before the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee Feb. 23, 2012 in Washington.","creditText":"Alex Wong—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3998/sandra-fluke-harry-waxman-california-congress/","name":"Sandra Fluke Inches Toward Congressional Run"}}]}] ```