Top News

Two people from different political parties maintaining any sort of relationship is becoming increasingly rare these days, but a report from Texas Monthly proved it is not only entirely possible for a married couple to stand on different sides of the aisle, but to run on different sides as well.

Robert Little and Leila Green Little are each running for the Llano County Commissioners Court, Precinct 4. In an interesting twist, Robert is running as a Republican and Leila as a Democrat. They hope this unique situation will give their county an alternative to the incumbent, whom they both deeply disagree with.

The Littles have a strong marriage despite being on different sides of the political spectrum.

The Texas Monthly profile described Robert as a “run-government-like-a-business Republican,” while Leila is a “self-described moderate independent.” Admittedly, neither claims to be an extremist.

Mikhail Nilov | Pexels

Leila assured voters, “We have a very successful, very happy marriage, and I think that the best outcome here could be that Llano County Precinct 4 voters would get to watch a married couple have respectful civil debates in the public arena about our county’s politics. I think that would be a great scenario.”

Although they are united by marriage, the Littles are running very individual campaigns. Robert actually remarked at a candidate forum, “I actually don’t know what the Democrat candidate would do, because I haven’t asked.” This hasn’t stopped their competition from suggesting something strange is going on, though.

: Woman Apologizes To All The Wives She Thought Were ‘Bitter’ While Being Married To ‘Easygoing’ Men

Incumbent Jerry Don Moss, a Republican, could lose the position he’s held for 20 years over book bans.

Moss insisted that the Littles have some kind of ulterior motive. “They’re [both] running against me. And that gives them two chances to beat me, is what that does,” he said. “If you got right down to it, [Robert] probably ran against me in the primary because she told him to, I bet you.”

The Littles said that no such master plan exists, and they actually made their decision based on personal convictions. Moss has been at the center of a local book-banning controversy, in which 17 books were removed from library shelves at his supporters’ request. They claimed that some included nudity, but others, like Isabel Wilkerson’s “Caste: The Origin of Our Discontents,” dealt with the subject of race.

Both of the Littles say they want to give Llano County voters “a choice in November,” as Moss would have run unopposed without them. Leila, a stay-at-home mom, said she was “not locally politically active, and then censorship happened at my public library.” Although Robert is a member of the same party as Moss, he believes the book banning is a violation of the First Amendment and the principle of limited government.

: Young People Say Stay-At-Home Moms Aren’t Entitled To 50% In Divorce Because They Should Get Jobs

The Littles are far from the first couple to disagree over politics, but they are handling it remarkably well.

Counselor Bob Taibbi, LCSW, said that he regularly sees couples seek treatment because of their opposing views. Sometimes these relationship issues stem solely from two people who resent each other’s politics, but more often he thinks that there’s a deeper issue, like unresolved anger or refusing to work through problems.

Katerina Holmes | Pexels

In a 2017 survey, Wakefield Research found that 11% of Americans ended a relationship over politics. Honestly, there’s a solid chance the number has increased since then. Still, political scholars believe that open dialogue, even among people who disagree, is essential to protect democracy.

No one is saying two people who don’t see eye-to-eye have to force themselves to get along, and there are certain political issues that aren’t worth budging on because they really fall more under the category of human rights. But being able to have a healthy relationship with someone you disagree with shows that you know there’s a lot more to life than what’s on the ballot, even if, like the Littles, you’re on the ballot yourself.

: Dog Detects Cancer In Husband & Then Does It Again For The Wife Years Later

Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.