Mom's in the House, With Kids at Home

It's women voters who are hardest on women candidates with young children, Lake said. "Perhaps it's their own sense of conflict or they know firsthand how difficult it is," she said. "Or maybe it's jealousy. The idea of 'If I can't do this, you can't do it.' Or 'You're putting yourself over your family and that's not a value I share.' "

Republican Margaret Hostetter tried to tap into those sentiments when she ran against Wasserman Schultz in 2004.

A divorced mother of grown children, Hostetter seized on the fact that Wasserman Schultz took notes at a candidates' forum with a peach crayon pulled from her purse. The crayon was proof, Hostetter said, of a "frazzled life." It was not a winning argument.

One of the first decisions Wasserman Schultz and the others made is whether to move their families to Washington. With their two-year terms, House members are perpetually campaigning, back in their districts most weekends to raise money, meet constituents and be visible. If their families lived in Washington, they would see little of them during long weekdays and even less on weekends. Senators, with six years between elections, can afford to travel less frequently and create more of a home life in Washington.

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and her husband, Frank Snellings, built a house on East Capitol Street, about four blocks from the Senate. "It's the only way I can do this job and be a good mother to them," said Landrieu, whose son, Connor, was 4 and daughter, Mary Shannon, was an infant when she was first elected in 1996. "I put my children to bed almost every night and they wake up to their mother's voice every morning. Nothing would separate me from that."

When she travels to Louisiana once or twice a month, Landrieu often takes an early flight on Friday morning and flies back the same night.

She makes dinner about four times a week. "It may not be fancy, but it's food," said Landrieu, the oldest daughter of famed New Orleans mayor Moon Landrieu. "We ate together every night at 6 p.m. All nine kids and both parents. My mother insisted on it."

Some evenings, Landrieu has to rush back to the Capitol to vote or attend events. Snellings, a lawyer turned real estate agent, has the flexibility to adapt to her schedule. One recent Wednesday, Landrieu walked home around 6:30 p.m., changed from a suit into a polo shirt and pants and prepared tortellini with tomato sauce and a salad from a pre-mixed bag of greens.

Mary Shannon, 10, set the table, wheeling around the kitchen's hardwood floor in her rollerblades. Snellings made himself a gin and tonic and handed a glass of white wine to his wife. Connor, 15, was at a friend's house.

Ninety minutes later, Landrieu would be back in the suit at Union Station to bestow an award at a dinner. But first, there was time to clasp hands and say grace at the table, and to talk about summer camp and Sugarbelle, the family dog.

Her Other House

Blocks away, the scene was less traditional on D Street SE, where three women House members share an immaculate townhouse during the week, far from their families back home in their districts.