The unmarried 17-year-old daughter of Bill Cassidy, a conservative Republican congressman who's running for the U.S. Senate from Louisiana , is pregnant, he said Thursday.
Cassidy said his daughter, who will be a senior at a Baton Rouge high school, faces "a more challenging future" but that she had the “unconditional support" of her parents, both of whom are doctors.
"Earlier this year, Laura and I learned we will become grandparents this summer," Cassidy
said in a statement to the Times-Picayune.
"Our children have been the greatest blessing of our lives and we welcome our grandchild as a joyous addition to our family."
Cassidy is considered the leading GOP contender
challenging Democratic incumbent Sen. Mary Landrieu in November.
The contest is being closed watched, with Landrieu a vulnerable Democrat running for re-election in a race that could help
determine control of the Senate.
Cassidy's statement was similar to the one released by former
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in 2008 about her then-17-year-old daughter, Bristol, shortly after Palin was picked to be Sen. John McCain's running mate on the GOP presidential ticket.
The former Alaska governor won mostly praise for the disclosure about her daughter, both from conservative Christian advocacy groups like the Family Research Council and Democrats, the Times-Picayune noted.
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