A national pro-abortion group recently announced that it plans to spend $20 million during the 2020 election cycle to help pro-choice state legislative candidates. EMILY’s List, the self-described “largest resource for women in politics,” said it will specifically target races in 10 different states, including Minnesota and Ohio.
The PAC selected states where the legislature has the authority in redrawing state and congressional maps. With the 2020 census on the horizon combined with a recent Supreme Court ruling that found federal judges have no authority in blocking politically gerrymandered maps, EMILY’s List plans to make its “biggest-ever investment in state legislative work.”
“Over the past 10 years, Democrats have continued to lose power at the state legislative level due to Republicans’ heavily gerrymandered state maps, and women and families are suffering the consequences,” said Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILY’s List. “While Republicans have used their power to double down on their anti-woman agenda and pass a wave of disturbing legislation attacking women’s rights, 2020 is shaping up to be a historic year and Democratic women are poised to make huge gains.”
In a press release, the group announced a $20 million investment in state and local elections as part of its “Focus 2020 initiative,” which will “focus on building a pipeline of future women leaders and flipping state legislative chambers in 2020 with an eye toward redistricting in 2021.”
EMILY’s List said it will target more than 500 state legislative races in Minnesota, Ohio, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
“These state legislative battles are crucial in the fight to protect reproductive freedom and ensure that districts are truly representative of voters in each state,” Schriock added. “Fair districts are critical to reviving our democracy and decreasing the polarization in our nation. The time is now.”
On its website, EMILY’s List offers more details about its Focus 2020 initiative, claiming there is “simply too much at stake to allow Republican leaders committed to partisanship rather than governance to redraw maps again in order to manipulate elections at the expense of women and families.”
– – –
Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News, The Ohio Star, and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “EMILY’s List” by EMILY’s List.
