EMILYs List Endorses Abby Finkenauer for Congress in Iowa’s 1st District
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, endorsed Abby Finkenauer for Congress in Iowa’s 1st District. Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILYs List, released the following statement:
“The people of Iowa deserve a leader like Abby Finkenauer and EMILYs List is proud to support her. At home in Dubuque, Abby’s roots run deep. Growing up in rural Iowa, she comes from a union household — her dad was a pipefitter welder and her mom works for the Dubuque Community Schools. The values instilled by her family of hard work and service meant Abby was going to do all she could to finish college even with student loan debt. Abby then was elected to the Iowa Legislature, where she's been not just a vote, but a voice for working families.”
“Abby’s record stands in stark contrast with a Trump ‘yes man’ like Rep. Rod Blum, who supported the catastrophic bill to take health care away from an estimated 23 million people and has called the investigation into Russian interference with the American election ‘political theatrics.’ The working families of Iowa’s 1st Congressional District need someone who will put their best interests first in Washington. That is why EMILYs List is so excited to endorse Abby. Her success is critical to taking back the House, and she’ll do what’s right for Iowans — not what’s best for his special interest allies.”
Abby began her career as a legislative aide, and she was just 24 when a mentor encouraged her to run for an open seat in the Iowa House. Abby ran a savvy grassroots campaign, and emerged from a crowded field to win by a wide margin – becoming the third-youngest woman serving in a state legislature in the country. She quickly established a reputation as a fighter for working families, and previously served as the Iowa director for Make It Work, a nonprofit that advocates for paid family leave and affordable child care. When elected to Congress, Abby will continue her life’s work of fighting to give Iowa’s working families a fair shot.
Abby is running in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, and this seat is a must-win for Democrats as we fight to take back the House in 2018. Vulnerable incumbent Congressman Rod Blum has been putting special interests ahead of the Iowans he was elected to serve and advancing the extreme Republican agenda at their expense. A member of the extreme Freedom Caucus, Blum voted for the GOP’s bill that would take away health insurance from 23 million Americans, and would hurt thousands of hardworking Iowans. Abby has what it takes to hold Blum accountable to Iowa’s working families and to flip this seat.
EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, has raised over $500 million to support pro-choice Democratic women candidates – making them one of the most successful political organizations ever. Our grassroots community of over five million members helps Democratic women wage competitive campaigns – and win. We recruit and train candidates, support strong campaigns, research the issues that impact women and families, and turn out women voters. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect 116 women to the House, 23 to the Senate, 12 governors, and over 800 to state and local office. Forty percent of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. Since the 2016 election, thousands of women and counting have reached out to us about running for office. To harness this energy, EMILYs List has launched Run to Win, an unprecedented effort to get more women to run at the local, state, and national levels.
