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EMILY's List

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EMILY's List
EMILY's List.jpg
Basic facts
Location:Washington, D.C.
Affiliation:Democratic
Top official:Stephanie Schriock
Founder(s):Ellen Malcolm
Year founded:1985
Website:Official website

EMILY's List is a political action committee dedicated to electing Democratic women who support legalized abortion. As of March 2020, the organization's website said, "We recruit the strongest candidates, support campaigns that can win, study the electorate, and turn out the vote."[1]

Mission

As of March 2020, the EMILY's List website included the following mission statement:[2]

“


We elect pro-choice Democratic women to office.[3]

”

History

EMILY's List was founded in 1985 by Ellen Malcolm.[4] "EMILY" was originally an acronym for the phrase "Early money is like yeast; it makes the dough rise," and the organization’s first logo was based on a Fleischmann's yeast packet.[5] According to The Daily Beast, "the operating theory was that female candidates could close the fundraising gap that they often face if they were able to show that they had substantial financial backing."[6] As of March 2020, the organization said, “Now we know EMILY is more than a slogan — she’s a candidate, a voter, an operative, a member.”[4]

During the 1986 election cycle, the organization endorsed and gave funding to Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), who was running for U.S. Senate. Mikulski won the election that year and each re-election until her retirement at the end of 2016.[7]

The organization continued to grow throughout the 1990s, gaining more national attention in 1992 when Anita Hill testified before the U.S. Senate on allegations that Clarence Thomas had sexually harassed her when she was his assistant at the Department of Education. EMILY's List saw a spike in donations, and the organization said that in 1992, "EMILY's List helped elect four new women senators and 20 new congresswomen. Membership grew more than 600 percent, with more than 23,000 members contributing over $10.2 million."[8]

In 2010, NPR said, "The fundraising success of EMILY'S List is undeniable. ... It has a list of more than 350,000 supporters, donors both proven and potential. And its endorsements still give instant credibility to a candidate."[9]

Work

As of March 2020, the EMILY's List website included the following areas of work:[1]

“

Recruitment and Building

EMILY's List recruits women to run for office at every level across the country. Finding strong women and building winning campaigns is the beginning of igniting change.

Supporting Our Campaigns

From research, communications, and mobilization strategies, EMILY’s List supports our candidates’ campaigns from start to finish because these races are tough. And we know how to win them.

Research & Data

In 1996, we began comprehensive research on the political views and voting behaviors of women to dispel myths about their involvement in the political process. For almost twenty years, we’ve known that when women vote, they drive change.

WOMEN VOTE!

Since 1995, we’ve used our WOMEN VOTE! programs to get women to the polls and elect pro-choice Democratic women. WOMEN VOTE! is about igniting change that matters to women and their families.[3]

”

Focus 2020

In July 2019, EMILY’s List announced its Focus 2020 initiative, a $20 million effort to target over 500 state legislative races. The organization said, "This historic investment will focus on building a pipeline of future women leaders and flipping state legislative chambers in 2020 with an eye toward redistricting in 2021, by electing pro-choice Democratic women who will pass policies that support women and families and fight back against Republican efforts to roll back women's access to health care."[10]

2017 shift in focus

In the first four months of 2017, EMILY's List heard from more than 11,000 women who wanted to run for office.[11] According to Politico, the increase in women interested in running led the organization to shift its work from encouraging women to run for office to training them in how to run for office. In an April 2017 interview, EMILY's List President Stephanie Schriock spoke of women looking to run, saying, "Some will do it now, but some are going to do it in five years, and some are going to do it in 10 years. The fact that they have crossed over the barrier of wanting to run from not wanting to run is huge."[12]

Political activity

Endorsed candidates

Click the links below to view candidates endorsed by EMILY's List in each category:


2020

EMILY's List endorsed Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in the Democratic presidential primary on March 2, 2020.[13]

As of March 2020, the organization had endorsed the following congressional candidates:[14]


2016

EMILY's List endorsed the following candidates during the 2016 election cycle:[15]


2014

EMILY's List endorsed the following candidates during the 2014 election cycle:[16]


EMILY's List also endorsed Katherine Clark in Massachusetts' 5th Congressional District special election, 2013.


2012

EMILY's List endorsed the following candidates during the 2012 election cycle:[17]


2010

EMILY's List endorsed the following candidates during the 2010 election cycle:[18]

Candidate contributions

2016

The following table lists the 10 largest EMILY's List expenditures for federal candidates during the 2016 cycle. All data comes from the Center for Responsive Politics.

Top 10 largest EMILY's List expenditures in 2016[19]
Candidate Party State Office Total Desired Result
Hillary Clinton Democratic Party N/A President $757,522
No.png
Catherine Cortez Masto Democratic Party Nev. Senate $562,276
Yes.png
Maggie Hassan Democratic Party N.H. Senate $505,340
Yes.png
Katie McGinty Democratic Party Pa. Senate $430,804
No.png
Tammy Duckworth Democratic Party Ill. Senate $420,566
Yes.png
Deborah Ross Democratic Party N.C. Senate $313,394
No.png
Ann Kirkpatrick Democratic Party Ariz. Senate $245,434
No.png
Donna Edwards Democratic Party Md. Senate $222,139
Yes.png
Patty Judge Democratic Party Iowa Senate $105,311
No.png
Annette Taddeo Democratic Party Fla. House $94,414
No.png

2014

The following table lists the 10 largest EMILY's List expenditures for federal candidates during the 2014 cycle. All data comes from the Center for Responsive Politics.

Top 10 largest EMILY's List expenditures in 2014[20]
Candidate Party State Office Total Desired Result
Michelle Nunn Democratic Party Ga. Senate $444,275
No.png
Kay Hagan Democratic Party N.C. Senate $377,978
No.png
Alison Grimes Democratic Party Ky. Senate $345,137
No.png
Jeanne Shaheen Democratic Party N.H. Senate $321,983
Yes.png
Natalie Tennant Democratic Party W.V. Senate $244,043
No.png
Staci Appel Democratic Party Iowa House of Representatives $168,991
No.png
Alex Sink Democratic Party Fla. House of Representatives $127,383
No.png
Colleen Hanabusa Democratic Party Hawaii Senate $117,105
No.png
Emily Cain Democratic Party Maine House of Representatives $80,997
No.png
Aimee Belgard Democratic Party N.J. House of Representatives $78,289
No.png

2012

The following table lists the 10 largest EMILY's List expenditures for federal candidates during the 2012 cycle. All data comes from the Center for Responsive Politics.

Top 10 largest EMILY's List expenditures in 2012[21]
Candidate Party State Office Total Desired Result
Claire McCaskill Democratic Party Mo. Senate $522,949
Yes.png
Elizabeth Warren Democratic Party Mass. Senate $507,595
Yes.png
Tammy Baldwin Democratic Party Wis. Senate $431,843
Yes.png
Shelley Berkley Democratic Party Nev. Senate $248,604
No.png
Mazie Hirono Democratic Party Hawaii Senate $215,640
Yes.png
Debbie Stabenow Democratic Party Mich. Senate $153,900
Yes.png
Betty Sue Sutton Democratic Party Ohio House of Representatives $140,396
No.png
Val Demings Democratic Party Fla. House of Representatives $128,574
No.png
Ann Kirkpatrick Democratic Party Ariz. House of Representatives $110,505
Yes.png
Cheri Bustos Democratic Party Ill. House of Representatives $109,925
Yes.png

2010

The following table lists the 10 largest EMILY's List expenditures for federal candidates during the 2010 cycle. All data comes from the Center for Responsive Politics.

Top 10 largest EMILY's List expenditures in 2010[22]
Candidate Party State Office Total Desired Result
Martha Coakley Democratic Party Mass. Senate $400,095
Yes.png
Barbara Boxer Democratic Party Calif. Senate $369,377
Yes.png
Robin Carnahan Democratic Party Mo. Senate $338,053
No.png
Patty Murray Democratic Party Wash. Senate $197,856
Yes.png
Mary Jo Kilroy Democratic Party Ohio House of Representatives $126,160
No.png
Betsy Markey Democratic Party Colo. House of Representatives $77,550
No.png
Terri Sewell Democratic Party Ala. House of Representatives $77,322
Yes.png
Colleen Hanabusa Democratic Party Hawaii House of Representatives $75,702
Yes.png
Julie Lassa Democratic Party Wis. House of Representatives $62,101
No.png
Ann Kuster Democratic Party N.H. House of Representatives $58,594
No.png

Leadership

Senior leadership

The website for EMILY's List listed the following individuals as the organization's senior leadership as of June 2017:[23]

  • Stephanie Schriock, President
  • Emily Cain, Executive director
  • Kate Black, Chief of staff
  • Louisa W. Farley, Vice president, development
  • Lucinda Guinn, Vice president, campaigns
  • Mũthoni Wambu Kraal, Vice president, national outreach and training
  • Jenna Kruse, Vice President, research
  • Leila McDowell, Vice president, communications
  • Caitlin Mitchell, Vice president, digital
  • Melissa Williams, Vice president, independent expenditures
  • Mike Sager, Chief technology officer
  • Leigh Warren, Chief operating officer

Board of directors

The website for EMILY's List listed the following individuals as members of the organization's board of directors as of June 2017:[24]

  • Ellen Malcolm, Founder and chair
  • Stephanie Schriock, President
  • Diana Bell, Vice chair
  • Ranny Cooper, Secretary and treasurer
  • Paul M. Bernon, Board director
  • Mary Beth Cahill, Board director
  • Aimee Boone Cunningham, Board director
  • Shefali Razdan Duggal, Board director
  • Ted Gavin, Board director
  • Rebecca Haile, Board director
  • Joanne Howes, Board director
  • Lisa Jackson, Board director
  • María Teresa Kumar, Board director
  • Judith L. Lichtman, Board director
  • Laura Ricketts, Board director
  • Donald Sussman, Board director

Commentary

According to NPR, EMILY's List's method, which combines grassroots fundraising and "galvanizing a donor base around a single issue," has been emulated by other organizations including the Susan B. Anthony List, which opposes abortion.[9]

In 2010, NPR said that the group's influence had been diluted and that EMILY's List had begun to expand its focus: "Indeed, while maintaining a woman's right to legal abortion remains paramount to EMILY's List — particularly in light of its prominence in the recent health care debate — the organization has begun to broaden its conversation about issues to include the role of women in the workplace and their access to health care."[9] In 2014, The Daily Beast said that "progressive critics say EMILY’s list is backing female candidates regardless of conservative economic leanings; in some cases, this has meant backing women who are not even as strong on issues of reproductive rights as their male opponents."[6]

Legal status

EMILY's List is a political action committee (PAC). PACs are political committees established and administered by corporations, labor unions, membership organizations or trade associations. The general definition is a group that spends money on elections, but is not run by a party or individual candidate. However, PACs can donate money to parties or candidates they support. These committees raise funds either from individuals associated with the corporation (Separate Segregated Funds) or from any individuals who wish to contribute to the committee (Nonconnected PACs).[25] Nonconnected PACs are financially independent and pay for themselves via the contributions they raise. Separate segregated funds are funded by the organization they are associated with.[26]

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'EMILY's List'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

EMILY's List - Google News

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 EMILY's List, "What we do," accessed March 11, 2020
  2. ↑ EMILY's List, "Mission & vision," accessed March 11, 2020
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 EMILY's List, "Our History," accessed March 11, 2020
  5. ↑ Facebook, "EMILY's List," accessed March 11, 2020
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 The Daily Beast, "Progressive Left's Latest Target: EMILY's List," September 4, 2014
  7. ↑ National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, "EMILY's List Model Fact Sheet," accessed May 18, 2016
  8. ↑ EMILY's List, "Our History," accessed May 18, 2016
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 NPR, "Mother Of Women's PACs Seeks Younger Supporters," April 29, 2010
  10. ↑ EMILY's List, "EMILY’s List Announces Unprecedented $20 Million Investment Focused on Flipping State Legislative Chambers in 2020 ," July 2, 2019
  11. ↑ The Hill, "EMILY's List has heard from 11,000 women who want to run for office next year," April 22, 2017
  12. ↑ Politico, "‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ crashes up against Trump," April 25, 2017
  13. ↑ Axios, "Pro-women PAC Emily's List endorses Elizabeth Warren," March 2, 2020
  14. ↑ EMILY's List, "Help our candidates win!," accessed March 11, 2020
  15. ↑ EMILY's List, "Donate," cached May 15, 2016
  16. ↑ EMILY's List, "Our Candidates," accessed November 21, 2013
  17. ↑ EMILY's List, "Our Candidates," archived October 5, 2012
  18. ↑ EMILY's List, "Our Candidates," archived April 14, 2010
  19. ↑ Center for Responsive Politics, "EMILY's List 2016 recipients," accessed May 19, 2017
  20. ↑ Center for Responsive Politics, "EMILY's List 2014 recipients," accessed May 18, 2016
  21. ↑ Center for Responsive Politics, "EMILY's List 2012 recipients," accessed May 18, 2016
  22. ↑ Center for Responsive Politics, "EMILY's List 2010 recipients," accessed May 18, 2016
  23. ↑ EMILY's List, "Senior Leadership," accessed June 22, 2017
  24. ↑ EMILY's List, "Board of Directors," accessed June 22, 2017
  25. ↑ FEC "Quick Answers," accessed August 9, 2013
  26. ↑ FEC "SSFs vs Nonconnected," accessed August 9, 2013
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