EMILY's List Celebrates Martha Coakley's Victory in the Massachusetts Democratic Primary Special Election

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- EMILY's List, the nation's largest financial resource for women candidates, celebrated Martha Coakley's victory in the Massachusetts Democratic Primary Special Election tonight. Coakley's victory positions her to be the first woman ever elected to the United States Senate from Massachusetts.

"Tonight Martha Coakley took a great big step on her way to making history and EMILY's List is proud to be a part of it," said Ellen R. Malcolm, president of EMILY’s List. "EMILY’s List members were energized behind Martha's campaign making contributions and working to get out the vote today. This is not just an opportunity to add a highly qualified pro-choice Democratic woman to the Senate. Given the climate in Washington right now surrounding a woman's right choose, the importance of Martha winning this election has been amplified. We look forward to working with her to win the general election in January, making her the first woman to ever represent Massachusetts in the United States Senate."

"It is important to celebrate these milestones and marvel at how far we've come since 1986, when there were no Democratic women in the Senate at all," continued Malcolm. "Our work is far from done. At 17 percent, women are still far from parity in the U.S. Congress, but every victory brings us one step closer."

In its first election cycle (1985-1986) EMILY's List helped elect Barbara Mikulski to the Senate from Maryland -- the first woman elected to the Senate in her own right. In the more than two decades since those key victories, EMILY's List and its members across the country have been dedicated to building a progressive America by electing pro-choice Democratic women to all levels of office.

If Martha Coakley wins the January 19th Special General Election she will be the 16th pro-choice Democratic woman that EMILY's List has helped elect to the U.S. Senate. When sworn in, Coakley will make 18 women currently serving in the Senate. To date, out of the 1,913 people who have served in the Senate (elected or appointed), only 38 have been women -- just two percent.

EMILY's List in the Massachusetts Special Election

EMILY's List endorsed Martha Coakley on September 9th, shortly after Coakley declared her candidacy for the seat held by the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. EMILY's List members from across the country contributed to her campaign and EMILY's List staff worked to support the campaign's strategy. Additionally, the Massachusetts WOMEN VOTE! program ran an extensive mail and phone program to reach out to 39,000 households throughout the state. The program highlighted Coakley's record of delivering results to the people of Massachusetts and targeted voters that were key to Coakley's success: college-educated women between the ages of 30 and 60 with a history of voting in Democratic primaries.

In a 2007 special election, EMILY's List helped elect Congresswoman Niki Tsongas, the first woman elected to the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts in a generation.

EMILY's List is the nation's largest financial resource for women candidates. In the 2007-2008 cycle, EMILY's List raised more than $43 million to support its mission of recruiting and supporting women candidates, helping them build strong campaigns, and mobilizing women voters to turn out and vote. With more than 100,000 members across the country, EMILY's List is one of the largest political action committees in the nation. Since its founding in 1985, EMILY's List has worked to elect 80 pro-choice Democratic women to the U.S. House, 15 to the U.S. Senate, nine governors, and hundreds of women to the state legislatures, state constitutional offices, and other key local offices.