Ode to Joyce

EMILY’s List is proud to announce our full endorsement of Joyce Beatty in the new, Democratic-leaning 3rd district.

Born to a brickmaker, who later founded his own construction company, Joyce learned firsthand the pride and security that come with owning one’s own business. She has not only started and nurtured several companies of her own, (including a downtown Columbus dress shop, still open today!) but through legislative initiatives and organization-building, helped other small business owners – particularly women – thrive and succeed.

Having developed an interest in politics at an early age, Joyce busted barrier after barrier. After becoming the first woman to hold her state house seat, Beatty was elected – by the unanimous consent of her colleagues – the state’s first African American woman Assistant Minority Leader. In 2006, she became the first woman Minority Leader of the Ohio House. Today, she serves as the Ohio State University’s first female African American senior vice president, ready to take her serious policy experience to Congress.

While in the state house Joyce fought to make sure poor and uninsured women had access to lifesaving cancer screenings. She passed legislation to improve Ohio’s business climate and make financial literacy a part of the state’s core curriculum. Her work on behalf of health, education, and small business has earned Joyce numerous awards and accolades from organizations around the country, from the YWCA to the National Urban League.

While the new 3rd district seat leans Democratic, Ohio’s role as a presidential battleground state will raise the stakes –and costs – in every race up and down the ballot. Joyce will be counting on us to help her raise the funds necessary to cut through the noise of robocalls and shady third-party attack ads – and educate and mobilize the voters who will send her to Congress.

Join us in supporting Joyce Beatty – new seat, new opportunity, and a new voice for change in the Buckeye State!

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