Lacey Turnbull

**Lacey Ann Turnbull** (née **Chesworth**; born 22 April 1965) is a Texan politician and lawyer, who has been serving as the President of Texas since 2016, becoming the nation's first female president. Previously, Turnbull served in the Texan Senate from 2012 to 2016, and in the Texan House of Delegates from 2008 to 2012.

Born to a wealthy family in the affluent West Lake Hills suburb of Austin, Turnbull graduated from Westlake High School as valedictorian in 1983. She subsequently moved to Northampton, Massachusetts, Atlantica and received a bachelor's degree in sociology from Smith College in 1987. She returned to Texas afterwards and received a juris doctor from the University of Texas at Austin in 1990, and began working as a professional lawyer in Austin. She left her career as a lawyer in 2008 to begin her political career.

Turnbull's political career began in 2008 when Turnbull was elected as the County Delegate for Travis County, Lesser Texas in the Texan House of Delegates for the Progressive Party. She served in this office until 2012, when she was elected to the Texan Senate. In late-2014, Turnbull announced her candidacy for the 2016 presidential election, and sought the nomination of the Progressive Party. Throughout early-2015, she campaigned in the primary election, and subsequently won the party's nomination on 23 July 2015. She faced Roberto Benucci of the National Conservative Party in the general election, and went on to win with 56.5% of the vote, becoming the first female president of Texas. As president, Turnbull has influenced a large amount of socially progressive legislation, such as the relaxation of abortion laws, protections against discrimination for women, and same-sex civil unions.

## Early life and family

Turnbull was born on 22 April 1965 in West Lake Hills, Lesser Texas to parents Arnold (1928–2012) and Dorothy Chesworth (1933–; née *Lee*). Arnold worked in business, while Dorothy is a housewife Her family originates in Great Britain, with ancestry stemming from England and Wales. She was raised an Episcopalian. Turnbull is the youngest of four children; her elder brothers include Arnold Jr. "Arnie", born  (1956-08-13) 13 August 1956 (age 67), and Kenneth, born  (1963-05-27) 27 May 1963 (age 60), while her elder sister is Janet, born  (1960-09-29) 29 September 1960 (age 63). Both Arnie and and Kenneth work as business executives, while Janet is a real estate agent. The Chesworth family were lifelong members of the National Conservative Party, and Turnbull has described herself as being the "black sheep" of the family, rebelling at times from her conservative family due to her progressive believes.

## Education and early career

Turnbull attended public schooling in West Lake Hills. She began her education in 1970, after beginning kindergarten. As a child, she was active in youth cheerleading and gymnastics, but quit both by the time she reached junior high school. Turnbull began high school in 1979 at Westlake High School. While in high school, Turnbull was a high academic achiever, who was active in a number of socially progressive clubs and organizations, in addition to being known for frequently organizing student protests. She has stated that she was sometimes ostracized by other students due to her political beliefs, and was not popular at all. Turnbull ultimately graduated as her school's valedictorian in 1983.

After graduating from high school, Turnbull moved to Northampton, Massachusetts, Atlantica to attend Smith College, an all-female private university and the sister school of Brown University. At Smith, Turnbull studied sociology and continued her reputation of being a social activist. She graduated from college in 1987, and subsequently returned to Texas. After returning to Texas, Turnbull enrolled in the University of Texas School of Law at the University of Texas at Austin. She graduated with her juris doctor in 1990. After graduating, Turnbull established herself as a civil rights attorney in Austin. She ended her law career in 2008 to begin a career in politics.

## Political career

### Texan Congress

Turnbull first began her political career in 2007 when she announced her candidacy for the Texan House of Delegates representing Travis County. She won the Progressive Party primary, and later won the general election. She took her seat on 16 March 2008. Turnbull later won reelection in 2010. In 2011, she announced her candidacy to represent Lesser Texas in the Texan Senate. She eventually was elected to the Senate and took her seat on 16 March 2012, resigning her seat in the House of Delegates.

### President of Texas

In late-2014, Turnbull announced her candidacy for the 2016 presidential election, and sought the nomination of the Progressive Party. Throughout early-2015, she campaigned in the primary election, and subsequently won the party's nomination on 23 July 2015. She faced Roberto Benucci of the National Conservative Party in the general election, and went on to win with 56.5% of the vote, becoming the first female president of Texas. As president, Turnbull has influenced a large amount of socially progressive legislation, such as the relaxation of abortion laws, protections against discrimination for women, and same-sex civil unions.

## Personal life

Turnbull began a romantic relationship with Daniel Turnbull while they were both law students at the University of Texas School of Law in 1988. They became engaged in July 1991, and later married in April 1992. Prior to their meeting, Daniel was a member of the National Conservative Party, but switched his affiliation to the Progressive Party in the late-1980s. Before becoming First Gentleman, Daniel worked as a corporate attorney in Houston. He resigned from his law firm in 2016 to prioritize his new duties as First Gentleman, but has announced his intentions to return to law after his wife's tenure is up.

They have four children together: Dorothy "Dottie", born  (1994-06-17) 17 June 1994 (age 29), Nicholas "Nicky", born  (1996-10-17) 17 October 1996 (age 27), Christina "Tina", born  (1998-05-22) 22 May 1998 (age 25), and Julianne "Ula", born  (2000-04-15) 15 April 2000 (age 23). The family resided in West Lake Hills before Turnbull began her political career, when they moved to Houston. They have resided in the Presidential Palace since her election as president in 2016.