EMILY's List
EMILY's List is an American political action committee (PAC) that aims to help elect Democratic female candidates in favor of abortion rights to office. It was founded by Ellen Malcolm in 1985.[4]
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| Motto | Ignite Change |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1985[1] |
| Founder | Ellen Malcolm |
| Purpose | To elect Democratic women in favor of abortion rights to political office |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C., U.S. |
Membership | 3 million[2] |
President | Stephanie Schriock |
Budget | $44,878,362 (2014)[3] |
Revenue | $44,206,357(2014)[3] |
| Website | www |
The group's name is an acronym for "Early Money Is Like Yeast", Malcolm commenting that "it makes the dough rise".[4] The saying is a reference to a convention of political fundraising: that receiving many donations early in a race helps to attract subsequent donors.
Emily's List bundles contributions to the campaigns of Democratic women in favor of abortion rights running in targeted races.[5][6]
From 1985 through 2008, EMILY's List had raised and spent $240 million for political candidates.[1] EMILY's List spent $27.4 million in 2010, $34 million in 2012, and $44.9 million in 2014.[3] The organization was on track to raise $60 million for the 2016 election cycle, much of it earmarked for Hillary Clinton, whose presidential bid EMILY's List had endorsed.[7]
History and mission
EMILY's List was founded in 1985, when 25 women met in the home of Ellen Malcolm. Founding members included Barbara Boxer, Ann Richards, Anne Wexler, and Donna Shalala.[6] In 1986, early financial support from EMILY's List helped elect Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, the first female Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate in her own right (not appointed or filling a seat of a deceased husband).[1][8]
The group's mission is to cultivate a donor network to raise money for female Democratic candidates in favor of abortion rights. To become an official EMILY's List member, an individual must pay $100 to join EMILY's List, and agree to donate a minimum of $100 each to two U.S. Senate, U.S. House, or gubernatorial candidates. Members make their donations directly to EMILY's List, which bundles the checks together and forwards them to candidates.[9]
In her book When Women Win: EMILY's List and the Rise of Women in American Politics, Ellen Malcolm, the founder of the organization, stated that "creating progressive policies and promoting them can be incredibly valuable. But those policies will never be implemented unless enough politicians are elected who support them."[10] They focused specifically on women in favor of abortion rights because they felt that "women couldn't be equal until they had control over their bodies."[11]
They chose to focus on raising early money for women because women were not getting money from the Democratic party and thus were not winning races even if they were qualified,[12] and they felt that early money could help convince people that their campaigns were credible and would help them raise more money later on.[13]
For the 2006 election cycle, EMILY's List raised about $46 million for candidates and the group was listed as the biggest PAC in the nation by Political Money Line.[14] EMILY's List endorsed 31 candidates in 2006, eight of whom were victorious.[6]
In 2008, EMILY's List endorsed 22 U.S. House candidates, two U.S. Senate candidates, and three gubernatorial contenders.[6] The PAC helped elect two new female senators, Kay Hagan of North Carolina and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, and supported the gubernatorial election of Bev Perdue of North Carolina, the re-election of Gov. Christine Gregoire of Washington, and the successful elections of twelve new women to the United States House of Representatives.[8]
EMILY's List criteria for picking candidates include staff recommendations, viability, "demographics and history of the district, analysis of opponents or potential opponents, analysis of candidate's education, political experience, etc., demonstrated success at fund-raising, poll data to demonstrate name recognition and grass roots support."[13]
Staff
Stephanie Schriock took over as President of EMILY's List in 2010. Amy Dacey was the executive director of EMILY's List from 2010 through 2013.[15]
The organization's board of directors includes Ellen Malcolm, Stephanie Schriock, Joanne Howes, Ranny Cooper, Diana Bell, Mary Beth Cahill, Judith-Ann Corrente, Shefali Razdan Duggal, Ted Gavin, Wendy Greuel, Rebecca Haile, Nikki Heidepriem, Judith Lichtman, Debra L. Ness, and Laura Ricketts.[16]
Programs
The Political Opportunity Program (POP) was established in 2001 to encourage Democratic women in favor of abortion rights to run for state and local office. POP targets its resources toward Democratic women in favor of abortion rights running for state legislatures, state constitutional offices, and local offices.[17]
Women Vote!
In 1995, EMILY's List began a program called Women Vote![18] in order to promote a higher voter turnout among women Women Vote! is Emily's List's independent expenditure arm which communicates directly with voters.[6]
Madam President
In 2013, EMILY's List announced its Madam President campaign, saying "There is a mandate for women's leadership in this country. But we have yet to break through the final glass ceiling and put a woman at the top of the Democratic ticket and into the Presidency."[19] Madam President now houses the former social media presences of Ready for Hillary PAC which did grassroots organizing in preparation for Hillary Clinton's presidential candidacy.[20]
Criticism
The Young Turks, Cenk Uygur, claims that EMILY's list is a hypocritical financial vehicle for Centrist Democrats to support non-progressive candidates in primary elections - even going so far as to initially support pro-life Dan Lipinski over Marie Newman who favors abortion rights.[21] Critics would like to see EMILY's List expand its definition of "women's issues" to include economic issues like a higher minimum wage and expanded Social Security. Others have said that the group simply needs to focus its resources better, staying out of races where there is already an incumbent progressive Democrat and focus on other races instead.[22]
Democrat Marcy Kaptur criticized EMILY's List for being too narrow in focus by emphasizing abortion rights over other progressive issues, such as the minimum wage, that also affect women.[6]
EMILY'S List in the past has received some criticism from how much money they are accepting and where that money is going to as being a Political Action Committee or PAC. In Nick Hoffman's article EMILY's List v. FEC[23] he discusses EMILY's List as a non-profit that has had trouble with the Federal Election Commission or FEC. Hoffman accuses EMILY's List of arguing with the FEC over how much money should be allowed to be given to campaigns. EMILY's List has been criticized for pushing the allowance of no limit on how much money can be donated to campaigns.[23]
EMILY's List has also had criticism over exactly how much influence they have had in past elections. Rebecca J. Hannagan et al., article "Does an EMILY's List Endorsement Predict Electoral Success or Does EMILY Pick the Winners?"[24] conducted research as to how much influence does EMILY's List have in a campaign. The research was set up to show exactly whether or not an endorsement got a candidate elected, did not get a candidate elected, or nothing happened. The research showed that the endorsement helped those who were mostly likely not to be endorsed, hurt candidates that people did not know whether or not they were going to be endorsed by EMILY's List, and did nothing for those who were expected to be endorsed in the first place. The article also analyzed the women's Political Action Committee that EMILY's List or "EList" has been an ally to the democratic party helping more and more democratic party candidates becoming the "grand dame" of Women's PACs.[25]
Endorsements
Endorsed candidates
EMILY's List provides trainings, recruits women to run, and endorses and funds female political candidates. EMILY's List is listed as an “important source of candidate support,”[26] in a 2010 article in the Harvard International Review.
Candidates endorsed by EMILY's List include:
| Candidate | Notable For | State | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tammy Duckworth | First female amputee elected to Congress[27] | IL | Congresswoman then Senator |
| Tammy Baldwin | First openly gay woman in Congress[28] | WI | Congresswoman then Senator |
| Kamala Harris | First Jamaican-American, South Asian, and woman to serve as California's Attorney General[29] | CA | Senator |
| Pramila Jayapal | First Indian-American woman elected to Congress[30] | WA | Congresswoman |
| Catherine Cortez Masto | First Latina elected to US Senate[31] | NV | Senator |
| Hillary Clinton | First female Democratic Party Nominee | NY | Presidential Candidate |
| Ilhan Omar | First Somali-American politician | MN | Congresswoman |
| Deb Haaland and Sharice Davids | First Native American women elected to Congress | NM and KS, respectively | Congresswomen |
Presidential
During the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries, EMILY's List supported Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama and bundled $855,518 for Clinton, making the group one of the five largest donors to her 2008 campaign.[6] When NARAL endorsed Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton, EMILY's List was strongly critical. EMILY's List President Ellen Malcolm said, “I think it is tremendously disrespectful to Sen. Clinton - who held up the nomination of a FDA commissioner in order to force approval of Plan B and who spoke so eloquently during the Supreme Court nomination about the importance of protecting Roe vs. Wade - to not give her the courtesy to finish the final three weeks of the primary process. It certainly must be disconcerting for elected leaders who stand up for reproductive rights and expect the choice community will stand with them.”[32]
After the conclusion of the Democratic presidential primary, EMILY's List moved their support to Barack Obama and was vocal in their opposition to the McCain/Palin ticket.[33]
On April 12, 2015, EMILY's List endorsed Hillary Clinton for president. The endorsement came within hours of Clinton's announcement that she had formed an exploratory committee to run for president.[6]
In the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries EMILY's List endorsed Senator Elizabeth Warren the day before Super Tuesday.[34]
2012
In 2012, 80% of the candidates endorsed by EMILY's List in the general election won a seat.[35]
| Candidate | Race | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Claire McCaskill | United States Senate election in Missouri, 2012 | Win |
| Elizabeth Warren | United States Senate election in Massachusetts, 2012 | Win |
| Tammy Baldwin | United States Senate election in Wisconsin, 2012 | Win |
| Shelley Berkley | United States Senate election in Nevada, 2012 | Loss |
| Mazie Hirono | United States Senate election in Hawaii, 2012 | Win |
| Amy Klobuchar | United States Senate election in Minnesota, 2012 | Win |
| Ann Kirkpatrick | Arizona's 1st Congressional District | Win |
| Ann McLane Kuster | New Hampshire's 2nd Congressional District | Win |
| Betty Sutton | Ohio's 16th Congressional District | Loss |
| Carol Shea-Porter | New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District | Win |
| Cheri Bustos | Illinois' 17th Congressional District | Win |
| Christie Vilsack | Iowa's 4th Congressional District | Loss |
| Debbie Stabenow | United States Senate election in Michigan, 2012 | Win |
| Dianne Feinstein | United States Senate election in California, 2012 | Win |
| Dina Titus | Nevada's 1st Congressional District | Win |
| Erin Bilbray | Nevada's 3rd Congressional District | Loss |
| Elizabeth Esty | Connecticut's 5th Congressional District | Win |
| Grace Meng | New York's 6th Congressional District | Win |
| Joyce Beatty | Ohio's 3rd Congressional District | Win |
| Julia Brownley | California's 26th Congressional District | Win |
| Kathy Boockvar | Pennsylvania's 8th Congressional District | Loss |
| Kathy Hochul | New York's 27th Congressional District | Loss |
| Kirsten Gillibrand | United States Senate election in New York, 2012 | Win |
| Kyrsten Sinema | Arizona's 9th Congressional District | Win |
| Lois Capps | California's 24th Congressional District | Win |
| Lois Frankel | Florida's 22nd Congressional District | Win |
| Louise Slaughter | New York's 25th Congressional District | Win |
| Maggie Hassan | New Hampshire gubernatorial election, 2012 | Win |
| Maria Cantwell | United States Senate election in Washington, 2012 | Win |
| Michelle Lujan Grisham | New Mexico's 1st Congressional District | Win |
| Shelley Adler | New Jersey's 3rd Congressional District | Loss |
| Suzan DelBene | Washington's 1st Congressional District | Win |
| Tammy Duckworth | Illinois's 8th Congressional District | Win |
| Tulsi Gabbard | Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District | Win |
| Val Demings | Florida's 10th Congressional District | Loss |
| Susan Bysiewicz | United States Senate election in Connecticut, 2012 | Loss |
| Tarryl Clark | Minnesota's 8th Congressional District | Loss |
| Suzanne Bonamici | Oregon's 1st Congressional District | Win |
| Janice Hahn | California's 44th Congressional District | Win |
| Kelda Helen Roys | Wisconsin's 2nd Congressional District | Loss |
| Gloria Romero Roses | Florida's 26th Congressional District | Loss |
2014
In the 2014 election cycle, EMILY's List endorsed 24 U.S. House candidates, six U.S. Senate candidates, and six gubernatorial candidates. Of these 40 candidates endorsed by EMILY's List, 42.5% won.[36]
| Candidate | Race | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Alma Adams | North Carolina's 12th Congressional District | Win |
| Julia Brownley | California's 26th Congressional District | Win |
| Cheri Bustos | Illinois's 17th Congressional District | Win |
| Bonnie Watson Coleman | New Jersey's 12th Congressional District | Win |
| Suzan DelBene | Washington's 1st Congressional District | Win |
| Debbie Dingell | Michigan's 12th Congressional District | Win |
| Elizabeth Esty | Connecticut's 5th Congressional District | Win |
| Gwen Graham | Florida's 2nd Congressional District | Win |
| Maggie Hassan | New Hampshire gubernatorial election, 2014 | Win |
| Ann Kirkpatrick | Arizona's 1st Congressional District | Win |
| Annie Kuster | New Hampshire's 2nd Congressional District | Win |
| Brenda Lawrence | Michigan's 14th Congressional District | Win |
| Gina Raimondo | Rhode Island gubernatorial election, 2014 | Win |
| Kathleen Rice | New York's 4th Congressional District | Win |
| Jeanne Shaheen | United States Senate election in New Hampshire, 2014 | Win |
| Kyrsten Sinema | Arizona's 9th Congressional District | Win |
| Norma Torres | California's 35th Congressional District | Win |
| Staci Appel | Iowa's 3rd Congressional District | Loss |
| Erin Bilbray | Nevada's 3rd Congressional District | Loss |
| Ann Callis | Illinois's 13th Congressional District | Loss |
| Martha Robertson | New York's 23rd Congressional District | Loss |
| Eloise Gomez Reyes | California's 31st Congressional District | Loss |
| Michelle Nunn | United States Senate election in Georgia, 2014 | Loss |
| Alison Lundergan Grimes | United States Senate election in Kentucky, 2014 | Loss |
| Allyson Schwartz | Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 2014 | Loss |
| Amanda Renteria | California's 21st Congressional District | Loss |
| Natalie Tennant | United States Senate election in West Virginia, 2014 | Loss |
| Martha Coakley | Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 2014 | Loss |
| Kay Hagan | United States Senate election in North Carolina, 2014 | Loss |
| Emily Ann Cain | Maine's 2nd Congressional District | Loss |
| Pam Byrnes | Michigan's 7th Congressional District | Loss |
| Suzanne Patrick | Virginia's 2nd Congressional District | Loss |
| Mary Rose Wilcox | Arizona's 7th Congressional District | Loss |
| Mary Burke | Wisconsin gubernatorial election, 2014 | Loss |
| Wendy Davis | Texas gubernatorial election, 2014 | Loss |
2018
In the 2018 election, EMILY's List endorsed 8 women in gubernatorial races, 12 for U.S. Senate, and 64 candidates for the House of Representatives.[37]
Similar groups
Similar groups have formed along the same lines as EMILY's List, with some slight variations. The Wish List supports Republican women in favor of abortion rights. In 1994, Joan Kirner created a similar organization in Australia by the name EMILY's List Australia.
Political activist and former school teacher Amy Laufer founded Virginia's List, a political group supporting Democratic women running for office in Virginia.[38]
On the other side of the abortion debate, the Susan B. Anthony List, an anti-abortion PAC, supports women who oppose abortion and is seen as the anti-abortion counterpart to EMILY's List.[39]
Maggie's List is a United States federal political action committee founded in Florida in 2010 to "raise awareness and funds to increase the number of conservative women elected to federal public office."[40][41]
References
- O'Connor, Karen (2010). Gender and Women's Leadership: A Reference Handbook. SAGE Publications. p. 152. ISBN 9781452266350.
- Siddiqui, Sabrina (November 7, 2013). "Emily's List Membership Hits 3 Million As Women Candidates Attract National Attention". Huffington Post. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
- "EMILY's List". OpenSecrets.org. Center for Responsive Politics. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
- Halloran, Liz (April 29, 2010). "Mother Of Women's PACs Seeks Younger Supporters". NPR. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
- "EMILY's List Mission".
- Vaida, Bara; Skalka, Jennifer (June 28, 2008). "Can EMILY's List Get Its Mojo Back?". National Journal. Archived from the original on 5 February 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
- Blumenthal, Paul (June 19, 2015). "EMILY's List Already Raising Big Bucks For Hillary Clinton". Huffington Post. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
- Pimlott, Jamie Pamelia (2010). Women and the Democratic Party: The Evolution of Emily's List. Cambria Press. ISBN 9781604976557.
- Pluta, Rick (October 17, 1993). "Raising Dough". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
- Malcolm, Ellen (2016). When women win : EMILY's list and the rise of women in American politics. Unger, Craig. Boston. p. 39. ISBN 978-0-544-44331-0. OCLC 913923800.
- Malcolm, Ellen, and Craig Unger. When Women Win: EMILY's List and the Rise of Women in American Politics. New York City: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016. 68. Print.
- Malcolm, Ellen, and Craig Unger. When Women Win: EMILY's List and the Rise of Women in American Politics. New York City: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016. 38. Print.
- Malcolm, Ellen, and Craig Unger. When Women Win: EMILY's List and the Rise of Women in American Politics. New York City: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016. 39. Print.
- "Sweet column: Hillary Clinton gets key endorsement for 2008 bid". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 2008-01-13.
- Neff, Blake (October 31, 2013). "DNC taps EMILY's List chief as new executive director". The Hill. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
- "Board of Directors". EMILY's List. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
- O'Hea, Olivia (February 27, 2014). "Event empowers young women to run for office". The Times-Delphi. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
- "EMILY's List Women Vote! Program".
- "EMILY's List introduces "Madam President"". www.emilyslist.org. Archived from the original on 2015-11-03. Retrieved 2015-11-07.
- Andrews, Natalie (2015-04-03). "Fans of 'Ready For Hillary' Headed to Emily's List". WSJ Blogs - Washington Wire. Retrieved 2015-11-07.
- Uyger, Cenk. "Democratic Super-PAC Caught Preparing Bernie Sanders Attack Ads". Youtube. The Young Turks. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
- "Progressive Left's Latest Target: EMILY's List". The Daily Beast. September 4, 2014. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
- Hoffman, Nick (2010). "EMILY's List v. FEC". The Urban Lawyer. 42 (1): 210–212. JSTOR 27895773.
- Hannagan, J., Pimlott, P., Littvay, Rebecca, Jamie, Levente (2010). "Does EMILY's List Endorsement Predict Electoral Success, or Does EMILY Pick the Winners?". PS: Politlcal Science & Politics. 43 (3): 503–508. doi:10.1017/S1049096510000739.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
- Burrell, Barbara (2014). Gender in Campaigns for the U.S. House of Representatives. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. doi:10.3998/mpub.213944. ISBN 9780472072316.
- Life's a Party: Do Political Parties Help or Hinder Women?, p 39
- MILLER, BRIAN CRAIG. “EPILOGUE.” Empty Sleeves: Amputation in the Civil War South, University of Georgia Press, Athens; London, 2015, pp. 175, https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt175741k.12.
- (Wisconsin's Second District: History in the Making). Page 199
- Kamala Harris." EMILY's List. EMILY's List, 2016. Web. 25 Nov. 2016.
- "Pramila Jayapal." EMILY's List. EMILY's List, 2016. Web. 25 Nov. 2016.
- "Catherine Cortez-Masto." EMILY's List. EMILY's List, 2016. Web. 25 Nov. 2016.
- Horowitz, Jason (May 14, 2008). "EMILY's List Trashes NARAL for Obama Endorsement". New York Observer. Archived from the original on May 29, 2010. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
- Curran, Dan (September 17, 2008). "National Organization for Woman Endorses Obama, Snubs Palin". CNN. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
- Perano, Ursula. "Pro-women PAC Emily's List endorses Elizabeth Warren". Axios. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
- Good, Chris (November 14, 2012). "Claire McCaskill, Emily's List Celebrate Women's Wins in 2012". ABC News. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
- Gold Matea (April 16, 2014). "EMILY's List powering Democratic women fundraising totals". Washington Post. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
- "EMILY's List". www.emilyslist.org. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
- WTVR News, Richmond, Virginia, June 11, 2019, retrieved October 6, 2019
- Gardner, Amy (May 14, 2010). "Sarah Palin issues a call to action to 'mama grizzlies'". Washington Post. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
- Cyphers, Karen (2013-06-10). "Jeb Bush to headline Maggie's List event honoring fiscally conservative legislators". SaintPetersBlog. Retrieved 2015-06-13.
- "Maggie's List. Women's Political Action Committee. Who we are and what we do". Maggieslist.org. Archived from the original on 2015-07-07. Retrieved 2015-06-13.